Swimming: Joseph Schooling just misses World C'ships 100m free semis

Joseph Schooling exits the pool after his 48.86sec swim in the 100m freestyle heats at the World Championships on July 26, 2017. He did not make the semi-finals. PHOTO: SIMONE CASTROVILLARI FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
Joseph Schooling comes fifth in the men's 50m butterfly at the World Swimming Championships in Hungary on July 24, 2017. He was 17th overall in the 100m freestyle. PHOTO: SIMONE CASTROVILLARI FOR THE STRAITS TIMES

BUDAPEST - A day's rest was not enough to help Joseph Schooling qualify for the 100m freestyle semi-finals of the World Championships on Wednesday (July 26).

The 22-year-old clocked 48.86sec in heat 10 at the Danube Arena and finished 17th overall, just missing out on a place in the last 16.

Australian Cameron McEvoy was the fastest overall qualifier after touching the wall in 47.97sec.

Serbia's Velimir Stjepanovic grabbed the 16th and final berth on 48.80sec.

After the race, Schooling said: "It was a pretty rough morning, not going to lie. I had the whole day off, sitting in my hotel room for 24 hours. First race after that definitely felt pretty rough. It was hard to get the wheels turning.

"I thought I had a solid race, I'll need to see my splits to see where I was at.

"I will turn my attention to the next event (100m butterfly).

"The key is to keep moving. After the 50m fly final, I kind of sat around, maybe took my mind off swimming a little bit, just sat in my room and watched water polo on TV."

As he watched the next two heats in the mixed zone, and noted that he had been pipped to the last berth, he said philosophically: "It is what it is really. I guess I'll just focus on 100m fly right now.

"There were some positives from that, and some negatives. I'm not too worried. It's a good wake-up call and I'll be ready for my next one."

The semi-finals will be held later at 11.41pm (Singapore time).

Schooling holds the Singapore record of 48.27sec which he set at last year's Rio Games where he qualified for the 100m free semi-finals and finished 16th overall.

The 100m butterfly Olympic champion had finished fifth in the 50m fly on Monday in Budapest and had a rest day on Tuesday after he withdrew from the 200m fly event.

The 100m butterfly heats take place on Friday, with the final scheduled for Saturday.

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