Meauri wins 50m freestyle heat

Sports

PAPUA New Guinea’s Judith Meauri took to the pool on Friday night in the 50m freestyle with more than 80 swimmers taking part across 11 heats in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The 29-year-old is a two-time Olympian, having competed in the London Olympic Games in 2012.
Her swim of 27.56 seconds beat the time she set in London of 27.84s.
Meauri won heat four of the 11 heats in the event.
Speaking after her swim, Meauri said she was excited to compete but felt she had faced the race calmly and achieved everything she had set out to do.
“This was the best race I have ever swum in an actual meet and I am happy with the time,” she said.
“This is only the second competition I’ve competed in, since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.”
The 50m freestyle is the most competed event on the swimming programme as more than 150 athletes swam in the men’s and women’s events.
Team PNG chef de mission Tamzin Wardley said every country competing at the Olympics was invited to send two swimmers to the Games, and most of them swam in this event, making it possibly the most global event at the Olympics.
“Sitting in the stands, cheering Judith on, we were literally surrounded by the world,” she said.
The fastest time of the night, for the event, went to Australian Emma McKeon who set an Olympic World record of 24.02s in the second last heat.
“Judith has been training in Thailand at an extended Fina-sponsored camp for over 18 months,” Wardley said.
“She left for the camp before the pandemic hit our shores and was originally going to remain until May, 2021.
“But it was better for her preparations to remain in Thailand right through to the Olympic Games.
“The training camp had to close for a while and pool training stopped but luckily it managed to re-open.”
With the travel restrictions in place, Meauri has only had the chance to compete at two meets in the last two years.
Meauri and fellow Team PNG swimmer Ryan Maskelyne will return to training after their quarantine period is over as they prepare for the World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi in December followed by the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.