Kenyan swimmer Ridhwan Abubakar out of Olympic Games after faltering in heats

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Kenyan swimmer Ridhwan Abubakar out of Olympic Games after faltering in heats

Abigael Wafula 15:36 - 27.07.2024

Ridhwan Abubakar's Olympic dream hits a dead end after faltering in the heats of the men's 400m freestyle and failing to secure a spot in the final.

The Paris Olympic Games are underway and Kenyans will be looking to do their best and fly the flag high as they look to make a name for themselves.

However, swimmer Ridhwan Abubakar has not been off to a great start in his Olympic campaign that has seen him get eliminated in the heats. That means his Olympic journey has hit a snug and he will have wait for the LA 2028 Olympic Games to make amends.

Competing in the men’s 400m freestyle, Abubakar was Kenya’s sole representative at the event happening at the Paris La Defense Arena. According to the rules, only the top eight finishers would make it to the final but the Kenyan’s time was not enough to salvage him.

He was competing in the first heat and managed to finish fourth in 4:05.14 as Morocco’s Ilias El Fallaki took the top prize in 4:01.59. The heat saw Jibril Noel and Alberto Vega finish second and third in respective times of 4:02.29 and 4:03.14.

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Abubakar’s heat was the slowest since all the subsequent heats saw winners post times above four minutes. The winners of the second and third heats won in 3:49.59 and 3:44.60 with the winner of the fourth heat winning in 3:44.23. The fifth heat saw the winner clock 3:44.13 to automatically seal a ticket to the final.

Meanwhile, the final charge will be led by Germany’s Lukas Maertens with Brazil’s Guilherme Costa coming in second. Liwei Fei, Elijah Winnington and Samuel Short follow in third, fourth and fifth places.

Aaron Shackel, Woomin Kim and Oliver Klemet sum up the top eight finishers who have automatically qualified for the final.

Meanwhile, Michael Phelps net worth is a question asked by a lot of fans, as he is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time. 

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