Tom Fannon failed to make the 50m men's freestyle final, despite setting another new Irish record at La Defense Arena this evening.
The 26-year-old touched the wall in 21.74, breaking the previous Irish record he set this morning of 21.79.
He finished fourth in the first semi-final, behind Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands (21.54), Caeleb Dressel of the US (21.58) and France's Maxime Grousset.
Benjamin Proud of Team GB won the second, faster semi-final in 21.38, the top five of which made it through to the final with Fannon ultimately missing out by .1 of a second.
Fannon was upbeat despite missing out on a final by the narrowest of margins.
He told RTÉ Sport: "It's hard because I’m really happy with it, it’s PB, but also you want to make a final.
"Considering this is my first Games and that’s such a stacked event, I’m happy to come away with tenth.
"It’s annoying because personally I think if I swim that race again, I’d go faster. There’s some things I didn’t quite like about that race, more to do with when I stepped up the gears, I think I left it a little too late.
"But I have to be happy at the end of the day, first Games, semi-final, almost a final, two Irish records, a PB.
"I’m over-the-moon. I’m going to meet my family, celebrate this because it is a victory and then just head down for the next four years try and get a medal. So reflect and have fun."
'Considering it's my first Games and that's such a stacked event, I'm happy to come away in 10th'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 1, 2024
Tom Fannon speaks to @OFlynnPaul after just missing out on final of the 50m freestyle #RTESport #Paris2024
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Earlier, Fannon, making his Olympic debut, won his first heat, touching the wall in 21.79 ahead of Croatia's Jere Hribar (22.08) and Mikel Schreuders of Aruba (22.14).
Fannon competed in the Commonwealth Games for England before making the switch to Ireland.
The 26-year-old became the first Irish swimmer to break the 22-second barrier with his 21.95 time at the 2023 Irish Open. He competed in the World Championships in 2023, where he finished 20th overall in the 50m freestyle.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after his heat, Fannon admitted that he was surprised to have broken the Irish record, insisting that he was unhappy with how he finished the race.
"Honestly I'm surprised with that time," he said. "It was such a bad finish, I was long into the wall.
"I can't really see much, I've got bad eyesight, and I had to squint to see the board. So 21.7, I was like, 'oh my God, wow'.
"I think everybody in the back of their mind before they swim has a little bit of doubt. I think that doubt is, am I fast enough? Because you don't know until you touch the wall. So when you touch the wall and you see the time like that, it fills you with so much confidence.
"Tonight, I'm looking forward to it. I’m going to swim down and get some nice recovery and just try and be faster."
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