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JANELLE ATKINSON QUALIFIES FOR 400 M FREESTYLE FINAL August 3, 2002……Jamaica’s Janelle this
morning qualified for the Final of the Commonwealth Games 400 Metre
Freestyle with the 5th fastest time when she swam
4:16.91. In the only other event contested by a Jamaican, Ramon
James swam his fastest time this year (24.67) to place 30th
in the 50 M Freestyle. With last nights 800 M Free winner Rebecca
Cooke (England), Jessica Deglau (Canada) and Karen Nesbet (Scotland)
the only three swimmers from the heat one to swim faster then 4:20,
Atkinson only had to finish in the top three in heat two to advance
to the final. The two Australian entries, Elka Graham and Amanda
Pascoe were her only real threats and all three swimmers moved away
from the field from the start and swam together for the entire race.
With 50 metres to go, England’s Caroline Saxby was to closest
swimmer to the trio but was no real treat being some five seconds
back. Graham finished first in 4:15.30, Pascoe second timing 4:15.30
and Atkinson third in 4:16.91. Seeded 5th, Atkinson will
swim in lane two when the final is swum this evening. Ramon James, swimming in lane four, had a fast start in the 50 M Freestyle and surfaced with a clear lead. James accelerated and dominated the heat to finish a full body length ahead of Alan Jones (Isle of Man), who touched in 25.14. Although just off his personal best, his time of 24.67 is the fastest since July 2002 when he swam 24.47 at the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships in Santo Domingo. In other events, Jamaica’s sole entrant in the Women’s 200 M Backstroke, Mariana Chuck, swam a personal best time of 2:32.72 to place 16th overall. In the last event of tonight’s finals session, Atkinson, Tamara Swaby, the Chuck sisters, Angela and Mariana, will team up to swim the 4 X 100 Freestyle relay. Seeded with a time of 3:38.00, the quartet are not expected to challenge for the medals, but have their sights set on the Jamaican Senior National Record of 4:04.76 set at the Pan American Games in 1999. The finals session starts at 7:00 PM local time. End. |
