Katarzyna Wasick / Adam Warżawa /PAP
The fastest in the qualifying round was world record holder Sarah Sjoestroem. The Swede was the only one to finish under 24 seconds (23.85).
Katarzyna Wasick clearly won her series. Kornelia Fiedkiewicz, who started in the last race, was sixth. She was 0.22 seconds short of 16th place, which would be awarded with participation in the semi-finals.
In the qualifications, 79 competitors were classified. The last one was Divine Miansadi (44.10) from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday evening at 8:39 p.m., with the final on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
This is one of my better results this morning. I’m happy. A great relief. Obviously, the first start is always burdened with some uncertainty. We trust our preparations, but until we get out and feel the audience and jump into the pool, we don’t know how we’ll swim. I’m happy with this morning result, but I’m already thinking about going to swim, because in the afternoon there’s a new race, a new hand and there you have to swim even better – said Wasick after the qualifying round.
When one of the journalists said that it all looked very easy, Wasick replied: “please don’t tell me it’s easy.”
You have to go through every stage. Until I’m in the final, I won’t say anything, I won’t speculate. I just want to do my thing. There are more races and anything can happen. These are the games. There are always reserves – said the Pole, for whom these are her fifth Olympic Games.
Wasick emphasized that she was aware of the schedule of starts. I start at the end, but sometimes it’s worth waiting for something cool. You have to be patient. I wasn’t nervous waiting for the start. I gained from being able to see my rivals, with whom I compete. I got used to the pool. I left today with a lot of self-confidence – she assessed.
The Pole added that she doesn’t want to focus on the pool. A pool is a pool – she said. The audience is great. I invite everyone to swim, to cheer not only the French, but also the Poles. It gives us a lot of energy – Wasick admitted.
