Paris Olympics: Kayla Sanchez thru to 100m freestyle semis

MANILA – Filipino-Canadian swimmer Kayla Sanchez booked her place in the women's 100-meter freestyle semifinals of the Paris Olympics at La Defense Arena on Tuesday.

Competing in her second Olympics but the first under Team Philippines, the two-time Tokyo Games medalist in 2021 finished 10th overall out of 29 swimmers, well within the top 16 cut-off for the next round.

The 23-year-old Sanchez clocked 53.67 seconds, good for fourth place in Heat 4.

Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey, who took the bronze medal in the women's 200-meter freestyle event earlier, won the said heat with a time of 53.02 seconds.

The Netherlands' Marrit Steenbergen was second in 53.22 and Torri Huske of the United States third in 53.53.

The semifinal phase is scheduled early Wednesday (PH time).

Sanchez, who represented Canada in 2021 before making the jump to the Filipino side, was neck and neck with Huske and even Steenbergen for most of the race before settling for fourth place.

She was born in Singapore and grew up in Toronto with Filipino immigrant parents, Noel from Pampanga and Susana from Baguio City.

She bagged silver and bronze with the Canadian women's freestyle and medley relay swim teams, respectively, at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics.

"What I can say to Pinoys (Filipinos) is that our height or ethnic background is not a hindrance to do well in sports. It's not easy but with dedication and hard work, we can do it," Noel told the Canadian press after her 5-foot-5 daughter's medal finishes in Tokyo. (PNA)