Bock misses Youth Olympic final by 0.61 seconds
Namibia’s Nathan Bock came within 0.61 seconds of reaching the men’s 50m breaststroke final at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games in Senegal earlier today, clocking 30.04 seconds to finish tenth overall and become second reserve.
The 17-year-old’s performance placed him two positions outside automatic qualification, with the eighth-fastest swimmer advancing in 29.43 seconds.
His second-reserve status meant he could only compete in today’s eight-man final if two places became available through withdrawals.
Bock’s tenth-place finish was his highest ranking at the Games so far, improving on his two 14th-place finishes in the men’s 100m freestyle (52.70) and 100m breaststroke (1:07.87) earlier in the competition.
Matyayi leads African field
Meanwhile, compatriot Roselinda Matyayi was again the highest-ranked African swimmer in a backstroke event after finishing 14th overall in the women’s 50m backstroke in 30.61 seconds today.
The 16-year-old finished ahead of the other African swimmers among the 45 competitors, placing 0.80 seconds outside the final qualification mark of 29.81 seconds.
Her latest performance followed Sunday’s women’s 200m backstroke, where she became the only African swimmer to reach the final after qualifying eighth-fastest in 2:28.78.
Matyayi went on to finish eighth in the final in 2:29.41, which remains Namibia’s only swimming final appearance at the Games so far.
Esterhuizen misses out
Lorenzo Esterhuizen was Namibia’s third swimmer in action today, finishing 12th overall in the men’s 50m backstroke in 27.81 seconds.
He finished 0.58 seconds and four positions outside qualification for the eight-man final, with the cut-off time standing at 27.23 seconds.
It followed his 11th-place finish in Tuesday’s 100m backstroke in 59.51 seconds, which remains his highest ranking at the Games.
Meanwhile, Madison Bergh, who did not compete today, remains Namibia’s other eighth-place finisher after clocking 4:37.03 in Sunday’s women’s 400m freestyle.
Unlike Matyayi’s 200m backstroke, the event was decided on times across heats without a separate final.
Bergh subsequently finished 31st overall in Monday’s 100m freestyle in a personal-best time of 1:01.40.
Langford fails to finish
Elsewhere, Namibia’s Johannes “James” Langford ended his Youth Olympic campaign without a finishing position after failing to complete the men’s individual triathlon at Saly Beach West today.
The Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) confirmed in a statement that the 16-year-old, who won the men’s elite race at the World Triathlon Development Regional Cup in Mozambique last year, was withdrawn from the race.
The NNOC described his withdrawal as a “responsible decision” after he experienced symptoms of overheating.
“His condition was safely managed within 30 minutes…the medical team will continue to monitor his [Langford] recovery as appropriate,” the committee wrote on social media.
Langford was among two competitors who did not finish in the 32-athlete field, which also recorded one disqualification.
Final swimming events
Namibia’s swimming campaign will conclude tomorrow, with Bergh and Esterhuizen scheduled to contest the women’s 200m freestyle and men’s 200m butterfly, respectively.
