The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IZAAK Bastian returned to the pool yesterday to compete in heat seven of the men’s 50m freestyle at the third Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He finished eighth in 24.13 seconds and did not advance as the Bahamas’ seven-member team opened competition this week.

He swam the first of his four events on Sunday and finished eighth in heat two of the 100m Breaststroke. His time of 1:05.21 finished 27th overall in the field of 32 athletes.

Today, Bastian is scheduled to contest the 200m Breast and will conclude his participation with his final event - the 50m Breast.

Victoria Russell also competed yesterday in the 50m Butterfly. She finished fourth in heat two in 28.40s. She finished 27th overall among the field of 38.

The five-member track and field team of Megan Moss, Shaun Miller Jr, Matthew Thompson, Raymond Oriakhi and Adrian Curry begins competition on Thursday. Sara Knowles (swimming) and Stephen Murray (track and field) are the coaches. The team is led by Chef de Mission Clarence Rolle and assisted by Oria Wood-Knowles.

In 2014, the Bahamas captured two medals at the second edition of the games in Nanjing. Both Grand Bahama natives – Joanna Evans and Henri Delauze – won bronze medals in the 800m free and 400m respectively. A total of 206 countries participating in 32 sports are competing at the event. Kosovo and South Sudan will make their Youth Olympics debut and it represents the first Olympic participation of Eswatini (formerly Swahili).

This year represents the first Summer Youth Olympic Games to be held outside of Asia (also first in the Southern and Western Hemispheres), and the first Youth Games for either summer or winter to be held outside Eurasia.

Senegal has been chosen as the host country for the 4th Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2022. It will be the first Olympic event in history to take place on the African continent.