Paris Olympics: Kayla Sanchez medal bid ends in swimming semifinals

FILE–Team Philippines swimmer Kayla Noelle Sanchez. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Team Philippines’ Kayla Sanchez’s hope of repeating as an Olympic medalist came to an end early Wednesday (Manila time) morning.

The Filipino finished seventh in 54.21 semifinals of the women’s 100-meter freestyle to drop out of the Paris Olympics 2024 medal race  at La Defense Arena.

Sanchez, a silver and bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics for Canada, finished 1.46 seconds behind Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan, in the second semifinals of the event.

Only the top eight times of the first and second semifinal legs advanced to the final.

Sanchez finished with a silver in the Tokyo Games as part of Canada’s 4x100m freestyle team and also earned a bronze as part of the 4×100 medley.

She then shifted federations to join the Philippines, where her parents are from, hoping to ride the momentum of her memorable final stint with Canada.

She did fan hopes Tuesday after finishing fourth in heat 4 of her event to qualify for the semifinals, clocking 53.67 to reset the Philippine record.