Zimbabwean swimmer Wetzlar fails to progress to next stage despite recording personal best, national record in 100m freestyle at Olympic Games

Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter

DESPITE recording his personal best time, which is also a national record in his maiden appearance at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, Zimbabwean 100m freestyle swimmer, Peter Wetzlar is not progressing to the next stage.

Wetzlar finished fifth in heat four in a time of 50.31 seconds. Regardless of the fact that this was the 24-year old swimmer’s personal best time and a national record, it was not good enough for Wetzlar to make it to the next round. Wetzlar finished 42 out of 70 swimmers in the 100m freestyle and Tuesday’s race was his only appearance at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Zimbabwe Olympic Committee congratulated Wetzlar for this effort, which they believe shows that the future looks bright for the country in the sport.

“Hearty congratulations to Peter on his #TOKYO2020 campaign. We celebrate your PB, national record and strong-willed representation and performance. Peter ranked 42 out of 70 and will not be proceeding to the next stage. The future is exciting. Greatest appreciation to Peter Weztlar’s coach, technical team and all behind the scenes support,’’ wrote ZOC.

Another Zimbabwean swimmer, 17-year old Donata Katai also impressed on her debut appearance at the Olympic Games when she won her 100m backstroke heat with a new personal best time of 1:02:73 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Sunday.

However, Donata’s time was not good enough for the first black swimmer to represent the country at the Olympics to progress to the semifinals as it was outside the cutoff.

It means Zimbabwe’s swimmers, who qualified for the biggest sporting event in the world on universality slots will return to their bases after just one appearance at the OIympic Games.

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