Peruvian Qualifying Meet
- May 2-7, 2023
- Villa Deportiva Nacional
- Lima, Peru
- LCM (50 meters)
- Results on MeetMobile: “Torneo Marcas Clasificatorias 2023”
Alexia Sotomayor lowered her own Peruvian record in the women’s 50-meter butterfly on Thursday in Lima, Peru, blazing a 28.04 to claim her second victory of the day just 15 minutes after winning the 200 backstroke.
Sotomayor, 16, shaved .04 seconds off her previous national record from last October’s South American Games, marking the first Peruvian standard set this year. She’s exactly eight-tenths away from the 2023 World Championships ‘B’ cut in the event.
She owns 14 Peruvian records, eight in long course and six in short course, and she’s only halfway done with high school. Only McKenna DeBever and Rafaella Fernandini hold more Peruvian national records.
In the 200 back, Sotomayor cruised to a first-place finish in 2:20.17, more than six seconds slower than her personal-best 2:13.80 from last October. At last year’s World Championships, she nearly made the semifinals of the 200 back as a 15-year-old, clocking a 2:16.65 on her way to 17th place. This year’s Worlds ‘A’ cut is 2:11.08 and the ‘B’ cut is 2:15.67.
Last August, she shared that she was moving to Boca Raton, Florida, to complete her final three years of high school at Saint Andrew’s School while also training with the Saint Andrews Aquatics club team.
Sotomayor recently crossed paths with two of her swimming idols a couple months ago at the Pro Swim Series stop in Fort Lauderdale. She called it a “magical experience” to reconnect with U.S. Olympic gold medalist Cody Miller, who gifted her a Team USA parka four years ago at the 2019 Pan American Games that she still had with her in Fort Lauderdale.
Sotomayor also swam right next to her idol, fellow backstroke and butterfly specialist Regan Smith, during the 50 back prelims. It was her second time crossing paths with Smith after they also competed together at Worlds last summer.
“Since I moved to the U.S., it’s such a great experience to swim with people like her and getting to know more people,” Sotomayor said. “It’s a whole different world and I’m really thankful for this opportunity that showed up in my life.”
