[UPDATED] Dylan Carter eliminated in 100m free in Paris

TRINIDAD and Tobago’s Dylan Carter did not advance past the preliminary round of the men’s 100-metre freestyle event at the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 30 after finishing last in the seventh of ten heats, in a time of 49.35 seconds, at the Paris La Défense Arena.

Swimming out of lane three, Carter, competing at his third Olympics, struggled to find his top gear and finished behind the pack in the eight-man field. Spain’s Sergio de Celis Montalban won the heat in 48.49, with Israel’s Tomer Frankel second in 48.66.

Carter was the first TT athlete to qualify for the Paris games. If the TT swimmer replicated his 48.24 national record he achieved in 2023, he would have cruised into the semifinals in Paris with the seventh-best time.

The 28-year-old was unable to repeat his best form in his first outing in Paris, though, and his effort saw him finishing well outside the top 16 spots for the semifinals, as he placed 34th overall out of 79 swimmers.

The TT swimmer was fifth after the first 50m, but faded in the last 50m to end last in heat seven.

Both de Celis Montalban and Frankel also missed out on semifinal spots, as they finished 19th and 21st overall respectively.

Finishing with the fastest overall time in the heats was American Jack Alexy. Alexy won heat eight in 47.57 to book his place in the semifinals.

The other swimmers among the top five overall were Maxime Grousset of France (47.70, heat eight), David Popovici of Romania (47.92, heat nine), Nander Nemeth of Hungary (47.93, heat nine) and Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands (48.01, heat eight).

Crooks swam alongside TT swimmer Nikoli Blackman at the University of Tennessee during the last school year. Crooks has been with Tennessee since 2020 and Blackman enrolled at the university last year.

Carter would have needed a time of 48.41 or faster to qualify. Sunwoo Hwang of Korea was the last swimmer to seal a place in the semifinals, ending 16th in 48.41.

In the semifinals later on July 30, Chinese swimmer Zhanle Pan was the fastest swimmer with a time of 47.21 to soar into the final. The other athletes progressing to the final are Australian Kyle Chalmers (47.58); Hungary's Nander Nemeth (47.61); Grousset (47.63); Popovici (47.66); Alexy (47.68); American Chris Guiliano (47.72); and German Josha Salchow (47.94).

Crooks missed out on the final after ending 13th overall in the semifinals in 48.10. The final will be held on July 31.

Carter hopes for better returns in the pool on August 1 when he contests heat eight of the 50m freestyle.

Carter was TT’s second participant at these games, following first-time Olympian Zuri Ferguson, who competed in the women’s 100m backstroke on July 29. She finished 27th overall.

This story was originally published with the title "Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter out of Olympic 100m freestyle" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter bowed out of the preliminary round of the men’s 100-metre freestyle event at the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 30 after finishing last in the seventh of ten heats, in a time of 49.35 seconds, at the Paris La Défense Arena.

Swimming out of lane three, Carter, competing at his third Olympics, struggled to find his top gear and finished behind the pack in the eight-man field. Spain’s Sergio de Celis Montalban won the heat in 48.49 seconds, with Israel’s Tomer Frankel second in 48.66 seconds.

Carter was the first Trinidad and Tobago athlete to qualify for the Paris games, and came into the meet with the third-best entry time among the eight swimmers – a 48.16-seconds clocking.

The 28-year-old was unable to replicate his best form in his first outing in Paris, though, and his effort saw him finishing well outside the top 16 spots for the semifinals, as he placed 34th overall out of 79 swimmers.
Both de Celis Montalban and Frankel also missed out on semifinal spots, as they finished 19th and 21st overall respectively.

Carter will hope for better returns in the pool on August 1, when he contests heat eight of the 50m freestyle.

Carter was TT’s second participant at these games, following first-time Olympian Zuri Ferguson, who competed in the women’s 100m backstroke on July 29. She finished 27th overall.