Bastian finishes 40th overall in 100m breast

TOKYO, Japan – Taking on the best swimmers in the world in his first Olympic swim, Bahamian Izaak Bastian had a respectable performance, finishing eighth in his heat and 40th overall in his specialty, the men’s 100 meters (m) breaststroke at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Saturday.

It was the first action for Team Bahamas at the Games of the 32nd Olympiad in Tokyo, Japan.

Bastian touched the wall in 1:01.87, exactly one second slower than his national record and seed time of 1:00.87.

Bastian, 20, said it was good to get the nervousness out of his system, and he’ll be ready to go in his next swim, the 200m breast prelims on Tuesday.

“Obviously, it wasn’t the best time for me, but it was a great experience nonetheless,” said Bastian. “It’s an amazing experience and opportunity to be here with the best swimmers in the world and to represent The Bahamas at the highest level. It’s good to get the nervous swim out of the way, and now I just have to keep moving and put my best foot forward for the rest of the meet.”

Bastian had a reaction time of .61 seconds, the second-fastest in the eight-man field, went out in 28.86 seconds and came home in 33.01. He was entered 40th and finished 40th overall.

Matti Mattsson, of Finland, won that heat in 1:00.02. World record holder Adam Peaty, of Great Britain, had the fastest qualifying time for the semifinals, touching the wall in 57.56 seconds, and Kirill Prigoda, representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) as Russia still serves a global doping ban, had the final qualifying time for the semis, swimming 59.68 seconds.

“This is Izaak’s first 

Olympics and his first Olympic swim, so it was good for him to get his feet wet and get our experience at these Olympics started,” said Team Bahamas swimming head coach Andy Loveitt. “He’s done college and junior worlds and Commonwealth, but this is a whole different ballgame. Now that he has this out of the way, he could come back a lot stronger in the 200.”

The 100m breast is Bastian’s stronger event, but now that he has his first Olympic swim out of the way, he could come back more relaxed for the 200m breast on Tuesday. Bastian, who is entering his senior year at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee, Florida, is anticipating a stronger performance on Tuesday. His seed time in the 200m breast is his national record time of 2:15.14, and he will probably have to go about four seconds faster to have a shot at the semis.

“I try not to put too much pressure on myself. At the end of the day, it’s just swimming,” he said. “The goal was just to come here, go out there and give it my best and whatever happen, happens. I just take the time as it comes.

“The experience itself is invaluable. You come here and race the fastest swimmers in the world. This is the pinnacle of our sport and it doesn’t get any more competitive than this. This gives me a ton of confidence going into my last collegiate season,” he added.

Loveitt said this is good for Bastian’s growth and development and could only help him in his collegiate and international meets in the future.

“There are a lot of positive things that he could take from this, and some positive things that he could work on over the next few days for his next swim,” said Loveitt. “Izaak will come back 

prepared to have a better performance in his next swim. He’s in a good position to move forward from this.”

Bastian will hit the water again for the heats for the men’s 200m breast on Tuesday. He will be swimming out of lane five in heat one and that event will take place at 7:35 p.m. in Tokyo, 6:35 a.m. Tuesday morning in The Bahamas. The FSU junior needs to finish in the top 16 to move on to Wednesday’s semifinals.

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