Pakistan’s Ahmed Durrani and Jehanara Nabi faced a challenging Olympic debut in their 200-metre freestyle heats at the 2024 Paris Games on Sunday, finishing last and 26th overall respectively.
National record holder Ahmed Durrani clocked a time of 1:58.67, placing fourth in his heat and last overall. His splits were 26.62, 29.21, 31.06, and 31.78. This performance was a significant departure from his record-setting swim in April, where he posted a 1:55.68 at the Malaysian Age Group Championships with splits of 27.15, 29.33, 29.94, and 29.26.
Jehanara Nabi, competing on the women’s side, clocked 2:10.69, finishing third in her heat and 26th overall. Nabi’s time was over two seconds slower than her personal best and national record of 2:08.57, set at the Thailand Age Group Swimming Championships in April. She outpaced swimmers from Albania, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Nepal with splits of 29.80, 32.49, 33.80, and 34.60.
Both athletes, who are wild card entrants in the Pakistan Olympic contingent, faced tough competition and fell short of their best performances. Wild card entries are awarded to countries whose athletes do not qualify for the event by standard means.
Despite the disappointing results, Durrani and Nabi’s participation highlights the ongoing efforts and aspirations of Pakistani athletes on the world stage.