Blackman advances to final in World Juniors 50m free

TRINIDAD AND Tobago’s Nikoli Blackman goes for gold in the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships men’s 50m freestyle final on Friday.

Blackman, 17, advanced to the medal race after placing fourth in the second semi-final at the Videna Aquatic Centre in Lima, Peru on Thursday.

The TT swimmer clocked 22.83 seconds and was the sixth fastest swimmer coming out of the semis. He swam out of lane five.

Topping the advancing field was Croatian Jere Hribar (22.35), Portuguese Diogo Ribeiro (22.45) and Frenchman Nans Mazellier (22.53) respectively.

The final splashes off at approximately 8.20 pm (TT time).

In the earlier round, Blackman was second fastest in the 12th and final heat, clocking 22.97 seconds, swimming out of lane five.

Winning the heat was Hribar, who touched the wall in 22.42.

Blackman’s time was tied as sixth fastest with Hungarian Benedek Andor, coming out of the heats. Topping the advancing swimmers was Portugal’s Diogo Ribeiro (22.32), Hribar and Brazilian Matheus Pereira (22.62) respectively.