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LUKE GEBBIE TOPS HEAT IN MEN’S 50M FREESTYLE, BUT FAILS TO SECURE SEMIS SPOT

Philippine’s bet Luke Gebbie topped Heat 5 of the men's 50-meter freestyle of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but fell short to advance to the semifinals after the event's heats on Friday.

/ 1 August 2021

The Filipino-Kiwi tanker finished his heat with a time of 22.84 seconds, which was the top time in Heat 5 but his effort was not enough to qualify him to the next round.

Gebbie’s record was 1.52 seconds behind Caeleb Dressel of the US, who topped the competition with 21.32 seconds.

Florent Manaudou of France, meanwhile, finished second at 21.65 ticks.

Overall, the 25-year-old Gebbie placed 41st among 73 participants. Only the top 16 advanced to the next round.

On Tuesday, Gebbie broke his national record, in the 100m. He clocked in at 49.64 seconds but also fell short to secure a spot in the semis of the event.

Gebbie was also the best Southeast Asian in the event, beating Joseph Schooling of Singapore who only clocked 49.84 seconds