LONDON, England – Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace was on the cusp of making history for The Bahamas Wednesday night but just missed the mark, finishing 10th overall in the women’s 100 meter (m) Free at the Olympic Games in London.
She was vying to become the first Bahamian to qualify for an Olympic final in swimming.
Vanderpool-Wallace swam 54.12 seconds Wednesday night, down from her national record setting swim of 53.73 seconds in the morning prelims. Had she swam that time in the semis, she would be in the final. The time in the semis was only good enough for a fifth place finish in her heat and a 10th place finish overall.
Ironically, Vanderpool-Wallace also finished 10th in the women’s 100m Free at last year’s FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China. She came back in that meet, made the final of the 50m Free and turned in a seventh place finish overall in a new national record.
Although she was unable to make the final Wednesday night at the Aquatic Centre, the time Vanderpool- Wallace turned in was her second fastest ever. Her fastest came in the morning heats.
In the morning session, she had the fastest 50m split of all the swimmers who competed, 25.60 seconds. On Wednesday night, she was almost a full half of a second behind with a split of 26.06 seconds. She made the turn in fifth place in her heat and couldn’t pull closer coming home.
Vanderpool-Wallace has progressed significantly since her Olympic debut four years ago in Beijing, China. There, she finished 28th overall in the 100m Free in 55.61 seconds. She was almost a full two seconds faster in London four years later.
