SEA Games: Lacuna lands fourth in 100m freestyle

SINGAPORE — Top Filipino swimmer Jhessie King Lacuna topped his heat in the afternoon but could not find the fire in the evening finals as he placed fourth in the men’s 100-meter freestyle Saturday night in the Southeast Asian Games.

The 21-year-old from Pullilan, Bulacan was either in the fifth or fourth spot in the first 50 meters and struggled to keep pace as the swimmers beside him steamrolled through pool of the OCBC Aquatics Center.

He clocked one minute and 50.82 seconds, almost two seconds faster than his performance in the heats which landed him in the fourth lane.

“I’m very happy with my swim it was the best time for me in five years,” said the Ateneo tanker. “That’s what important for me.”

Trained for two months in Canberra, Lacuna said he “did his best effort” in what he considered his “pet event.”

He added: “It’s expected that tonight everybody will be fast.”

True enough. The Vietnamese who turned in a time of 1:53.56 in the heats smashed the SEA Games record with a stunning 1:48.96 performance to capture the gold medal.

Hoang Quy Phuoc broke the 1:49.22 mark of Henry Bego DW of Malaysian in 2009 Vientiene.

Phuoc, swimming in lane six, sped from the opening buzzer and held off the charge of crowd favorite Quah Zheng Wen who finished second (1:49.17). Malaysia’s Sim Welson Wee was third with 1:50.73.