Courtesy of: The Morning News
In 1st heat which lasted a bit more than half a minute, Soekander had less than a strong start, but was determined to recover his position to finalize among the first four, which gave him a high score.
In the first curve he suffered a fall along with four other racers. He was unable to get up in time and ended up last to come in. In the second heat Zaithyel committed a technical error at the second hill resulting in him finalizing in 7th place. In the 3rd heat again Zaithyel was hindered and ended up in the last place.
For Zaithyel this was a tremendous learning experience, to race for the first time with Olympic elites, racers with enormous international experience, notwithstanding the ages of the racers.
Soekander is but 16 years of age and was the youngest racer in the entire South American competition. Among the favorites, the Colombian, Carlos Qquendo and Zaithyel there is a difference of ten years.
This time Zaithyel came short of accomplishing his goal. Yet he is determined in becoming one of the greatest BMX cyclist in the near future.
Hopi Pabien Zaithyel!
