Paris Olympics: Kayla Sanchez secures spot in freestyle semifinal

Kayla Sanchez, of the Philippines, prepares for her heat in the women’s 100-meter freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

MANILA, Philippines—Kayla Sanchez served as a beacon of light for Team Philippines at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Just hours after Filipino rower Joanie Delgaco and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe bowed out of the medal race, Sanchez advanced to the women’s 100m freestyle semifinal on Tuesday at Paris La Defense Arena.

Sanchez, who’s in her second Summer Games stint after representing Canada at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, clocked 53.67 seconds to finish 10th in the heats and break the Philippine record.

READ: Paris Olympics: Quick exit anew for Kiyomi Watanabe

Only the 16 best swimmers booked tickets to the next phase.

World record holder Sarah Sjoestroem of Sweden topped the preliminary round with a time of 52.99 seconds.

Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong came in second at 53.02 seconds while China’s Junxuan Yang (53.05), The Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen (53.22) and Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan (53.27) rounded out the Top 5.

The 23-year-0ld Sanchez, who made her debut for the Philippines in last year’s Asian Games, competes in the semifinal on Wednesday at 3:00 a.m.