Alkhaldi tries one last time in 50m

SINGAPORE – After a forgettable stint in the 200m free yesterday, Jasmin Alkhaldi competes in the 50m free today as she wraps up her campaign in swimming competitions in the first Youth Olympic Games here.

Alkhaldi hopes to come up with a better performance than the last time out where she struggled to finish 22nd in a field of 41 in the 200m free at the Singapore Sports School’s pool.

“It will be very difficult but she will do better than in the 200m,” said RP chief of mission and swim chief Mark Joseph, adding that his ward has developed a cold the past four days but has been feeling better.

On Monday, the 17-year-old Alkhaldi cruised to the semifinals of the girls’ 100m free but failed to advance to the finals, finishing 12th among 16 qualifiers dominated by Emma McKeon of Australia.

Alkhaldi clocked 58.01 in the 100m, slower than the 57.12 effort she dished out in the recent Singapore national championships where she erased the old RP mark of 59.19 set by Fil-Am Christel Simms in the Beijing Olympics.

Meanwhile, fellow tanker Jessie Lacuna closes out Team RP’s swim campaign Friday when he vies in the boys’ 200m fly heats against a field teeming with talent. Lacuna, 16, failed in his bid for a medal in his favorite 200m free, finishing eighth and last in.

Over at the Kallang Tennis Centre, Jeson Patrombon succumbed to the power-hitting King Darian of Barbados, losing a 6-7(8), 3-6 decision in the quarterfinal round of the consolation pool in boys’ tennis.

The 17-year-old Patrombon, who lost a three-setter to Chinese Ouyang Bowen in the first round of the tournament proper, scored a walkover win over Argentina’s Olivo Renzo in the opener of the consolation round Tuesday.