Now 100 m backstroke

Reitshammer swims to 15th place in the 100 m breaststroke

Bernhard Reitshammer(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Tyrolean Bernhard Reitshammer swam to 15th place in the 100 m breaststroke at the Olympic Games in Paris. In 1:00.18 minutes he was eight tenths behind the top eight, the 30-year-old was exactly half a second off his previous time. 

His compatriot Felix Auböck had missed out on advancing to the final in the 400 m crawl by almost five seconds earlier in the day due to physical problems. In 3:50.50 minutes, the 27-year-old was 7.26 seconds faster than his time from the European Championship gold medal race in Belgrade.

Auböck only finished 24th and his participation in the 200 m crawl on Sunday seems to be open, as he had a slightly higher temperature on Saturday evening and decided not to go into the hall. Reitshammer, however, will compete in the preliminary heat of the 100 m backstroke on Sunday, primarily as a relay test for next weekend. He does not expect to advance to the semifinals, as he originally did in the 100 m breaststroke: "So I have mixed feelings. The semi-final was great, but of course I was hoping for a better time now. So I'm not entirely satisfied."

In the preliminary heat, the European short course champion had equaled his personal best in the 100 m medley in 59.78 seconds. His prediction that a time of 59.3 to 59.4 would be enough for the final ultimately came true. "I tried to give more at the front, but it was slower," said the veteran. "It just didn't go as smoothly. I really felt it in my arms at 80 m on the second length. It didn't really go forward any more."