Bree fails to reach semi-finals

A new Irish record, not to mention a second-placed finish in his heat, was not sufficient to earn Andrew Bree a berth in the …

A new Irish record, not to mention a second-placed finish in his heat, was not sufficient to earn Andrew Bree a berth in the semi-finals of the men's 100 metres breaststroke.

Bree, more comfortable over the 200m distance, will no doubt have been relatively pleased with his opening foray in these Games despite a time of 1 minute, 1.76 seconds leaving him down in 30th place.

Only the top 16 qualify for the next stage. Norway's Alexander Oen set a new Olympic record of 59.41s in winning the seventh heat.

Britain's Chris Cook scraped into tomorrow's semi-finals by finishing fourth in his heat and 15th fastest overall.

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Cook, one of just five men to break the one-minute barrier this year, clocked 1:00.70 but team-mate Kristopher Gilchrist failed to advance after managing just seventh in his heat in 1:01.34.