Tarere makes inspiring Olympics debut but misses out in 100m freestyle finals

Papua New Guinea swimming sensation Josh Tarere made a memorable Olympic Games debut, smashing his own record in the 100m freestyle with a new time of 53.58 seconds.

Tarere finished first out of 10 swimmers in his heat and swam a new personal best from his previous record of 54.11 seconds clocked in during the Oceania Championships.

Despite topping his pool last night at the Paris La Defense Arena, the 24-year-old was not able to proceed to the preliminary finals.

He was ranked 72 out of 79 swimmers in the freestyle event and was 6 seconds short of progressing to the next stage.

A product of the Lae amateur swimming club, Tarere earned his Olympic spot via universality placing along with his female colleague Georgia-Leigh Vele.

Competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics for the first time is one of the biggest achievements for Tarere since entering the international stage last year.

He was given a scholarship by the World Aquatics in 2023 after his maiden appearance at the World Championships in Japan.

The 12-month scholarship which will expire in September gave Tarere an opportunity to train in Thailand and prepare for international events.

The scholarship has been rewarding with Tarere’s recent inspiring performances in the 2024 world championships and the Oceania tournament.

With Tarere out of finals contention, his short journey in Olympics came to end last night along with fellow Team PNG boxer John Ume.

Meanwhile, female swimmer Vele is expected to take the pool on Saturday in the 50m freestyle event while sprinter Leonie Beu will hit the tracks on Friday prior to the swimming gig.