JAMAICA’S Sabrina Lyn acknowledged it was a “big deal” after she qualified for Tuesday’s final of the women’s 50m breaststroke, her second final appearance in the Commonwealth Games at Tollcross swimming centre in Glasgow, Scotland.

She advanced after placing third in her semi-final on Monday in 31.13 seconds, the fifth fastest time overall. In the first round in the morning session, Lyn had also placed third in 31.19.

Lyn, who had placed eighth in the women’s 100m breaststroke final on Sunday, goes into the final which is set for this afternoon at 2:48 Jamaica time.

There is not much between Lyn and a podium position and she told the Jamaica Observer that despite competing in her first major global championships and having to swim three rounds, she thinks she still has something left for the final.

“This is my first time having to do a three-swim meet with prelims, semis and finals, and so to be able to make the finals, and then not just make it but make it confidently with a fifth place, that’s feeling pretty good,” Lyn said.

Given how short the 50m race is, it does not leave much room for error. On the flip side, Lyn said she hopes to find room for improvement.

“There’s always something you can do [to go faster], maybe my finish could be better. Hopefully, I hope I can go faster in a 50m, but I’m just really proud of what I’ve done so far, and I hope to make Jamaica proud in the final,” she said.

Lyn’s coach Wendy Lee is optimistic her charge can deliver a medal against the odds.

“I approach every race and every victory from a position of humility and appreciation. I believe in Sabrina 100 per cent as she has shown time and time again that she can perform under the lights,” Lee told the Jamaica Observer. “I have had the honour to experience Sabrina pull off exceptional performances. I will approach the final with 100 percent confidence that she can achieve the medal. It would be a dream and a confirmation of what we already know: Jamaican athletes are world class.”

Also on Monday, the Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls netball team rebounded from Sunday’s five-goal loss to New Zealand to end Uganda’s two-game winning run. The Sunshine Girls came from behind to defeat Uganda 55-49 in Pool B action at Hydro Arena.

The Sunshine Girls trailed Uganda 12-15 after the first quarter but took the lead in the second quarter to hold a 29-25 advantage at half time. They led the African team 43-39 going into the final period which they edged 12-10.

Romelda Aiken led Jamaica with 39 goals from 42 attempts, while Rhea Dixon scored nine goals from 12 attempts. Azara Wilmot came off the bench to score all four attempts, while Shanice Beckford scored three of her four attempts.

Mary Cholhok scored 34 goals from 37 attempts for Uganda, while Shadiah Nassanga was perfect from her 12 attempts. Racheal Nanyonga scored three goals from four tries.

Jamaica’s men’s 3×3 basketball team lost both their games on Monday, defeated 12-22 by Kenya and 15-21 by Malaysia.

In bowls, Robert Simpson lost his fifth-straight match, going down 0-2 to Pakistan’s Mohammed Ayub Qureshi.

— Paul A Reid

LEE… I will approach the final with 100 per cent confidence that she can achieve the medal