Jerard Jacinto made his debut in the FINA World Championships (25m) count after taking a new personal best time in the men’s 100-meter backstroke on Thursday at the Etihad Arena in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
The Texas A&M sophomore paced his heat early and touched first after the first 50 meters at 25.30.
He was headed for the win of his heat, but Luxembourg’s Max Mannes came from behind to snag the first-place finish with 53.63, which is just 0.06 seconds ahead of Jacinto.
The result saw Jacinto finish in 35th place out of the 56 competitors.
On his part, Sebastian Cook also made his debut after finishing in 36th out of 65 swimmers in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke.
The 21-year-old kept in step with the leaders through the first half of the race, and even though he went slower in the second half he still ended fourth in his heat.
Chloe Isleta rounded up our day for debutants after she ended in 29th among 50 participating swimmers.
She barely broke the one-minute mark with a 1:00.42 finish in the women’s 100-meter backstroke.
The 23-year-old standout and Ireland’s Danielle Hill were neck-and-neck at the 50-meter mark; only, the latter kept her advantage to see Isleta off with the ninth place in their heat.
