Sanderson finishes third in 100m freestyle heat

James Sanderson, who returned to the Commonwealth Games after a seven-year absence from international swimming, was back in action on Monday, taking his place in the men's 100m freestyle. This was his fourth Commonwealth Games, having first competed in Delhi, although he did not compete in Birmingham.
The 33-year-old, one of the oldest members of Team Gibraltar, raced in Heat 2 alongside Josiah Minott (AIA), Thomas Chen (PNG), Jayden Ntwali (RWA), Pap D Jonga (GAM), Muhammad Ahmed Durrani (PAK), Noland George (SHN) and Muhammad Mohamed Firdhyan (SRI).
The 16 fastest swimmers from the nine heats would qualify for the semi-finals, with the remainder eliminated.
James Sanderson produced an exciting performance, finishing third in his heat.
He challenged throughout for second and third place, staying within touching distance of eventual winner Firdhyan and runner-up Durrani before dropping back slightly over the closing metres.
Sanderson finished in a time of 54.78 seconds, with the winner of his heat recording 53.00 seconds.
His performance left him ahead of 13 other swimmers after the first 30 competitors had completed their races. However, he slipped just outside the top 16 following the remaining three heats.
Although outside his personal best, Sanderson's time remained close to Gibraltar's national record of 54.02 seconds, which he himself holds.
Sanderson dropped to 54th place overall from a field of 67 swimmers competing.