MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tanker Kayla Sanchez could not make the final of the Paris Olympics women's 100m freestyle event after finishing 15th in the semifinals at the Paris La Defense Arena early Wednesday, July 31 (Manila time).

Sanchez submitted a time of 54.21 seconds in the 16-swimmer, 2-group semifinals where only the top eight progressed to the medal round.

During the heats on Tuesday evening, Sanchez registered a new Philippine record of 53.67 seconds as she smashed the previous standard of 54.25 ticks that she herself posted at the Mel Zajac Jr. International Meet in Canada last June.

Born to Filipino immigrant parents, the 23-year-old Sanchez previously represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics where she snared a silver and a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay events, respectively.

She made her Philippine swimming debut at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.