Record-breaking Kayla Sanchez barges into Olympic swimming semis

MANILA, Philippines – Swimmer Kayla Sanchez opened her Paris Olympics campaign for the Philippines in record-breaking fashion.

Sanchez earned her place in the semifinals of the women’s 100-meter freestyle after finishing at joint 10th in the heats by clocking a new Philippine record of 53.67 seconds at the Paris La Defense Arena on Tuesday, July 30.

The 23-year-old shattered her previous national record of 54.25 seconds set a month ago in a competition in Canada as she made the 16-swimmer cutoff for the semifinals.

Sanchez shared the 10th spot with Great Britain’s Anna Hopkin, a member of the gold-winning 4x100m mixed medley team in the Tokyo Games.

World record holder Sarah Sjoestroem of Sweden topped the heats with 52.99 seconds, while Hong Kong’s Siobhan Bernadette Haughey (53.02) and China’s Yang Junxuan (53.05) placed second and third, respectively.

A total of 29 swimmers spread across four heats competed in the women’s 100m freestyle, with 13 not making the cut.

Sanchez is back in the Olympics three years after helping Canada capture a 4x100m freestyle silver and a 4x100m medley bronze in the Tokyo Olympics.

Born in Singapore to Filipino parents, Sanchez competed for Canada for years before she switched sporting nationalities as she opted to represent the Philippines.

The semifinals are set at 3:30 am on Wednesday, July 31 (Manila time). – Rappler.com