Dominica falls short in Olympic swimming qualification bid

Dominica’s national swimmer Warren Lawrence narrowly missed qualifying for the semi-finals in the Men’s 50-meter freestyle event at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.

Lawrence, the first Dominican swimmer to compete in the Olympics since the 2000 Sydney Games, showcased his talent in a highly competitive field.

The Dominica Olympic Committee reported, “Lawrence swimming in heat number 4, swam a time of 24.67 seconds, managing to finish in 5th place in the very competitive heat.”

This performance was just shy of Lawrence’s personal best of 24.51 seconds, highlighting the intensity of Olympic-level competition.

Lawrence’s participation carries special significance for Dominica, as he follows in the footsteps of his father, Woodrow “Woody” Lawrence, who represented the country at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Despite a strong showing in his heat, Lawrence’s time wasn’t enough to advance to the semi-finals.

The committee stated, “Warren’s time of 24.67 seconds while it was good enough for a 5th in his heat, it meant that he finished 52nd overall out of the 73 other competitors.” Only the top 16 swimmers progressed to the next round.

The heat was won by Thierry Bollin of Switzerland, who set the pace with a time of 22.95 seconds, demonstrating the world-class standards of the event.