MANILA, Philippines — Swimmer Luke Gebbie has set a new national record for 100-meter freestyle in his Olympic debut in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old Fil-Aussie clocked 49.64, good enough for a fifth place finish in his heat.
This rewrote the national record of 49.94 that Gebbie set himself at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
He also finished better than Singapore Olympic champion Joseph Schooling who finished with 49.84.
The new record, however, was not enough as he failed to move on to the semifinals.
Gebbie's time was not enough to break the Top 16 out of 71 swimmers. He ended at rank 36.
However, he has another chance with the 50 meter freestyle event on Friday.