The 22-year-old from Linz swam a fantastic time of 51.18 seconds in the heats on Thursday and improved his record by 62 hundredths of a second. This gives Bucher a realistic chance of making it into the final on Friday in the semifinals on Thursday evening.
“That’s really pretty cool, a good announcement,” said Bucher, out of breath in the catacombs of the Duna Arena. “I had to take a second look to see if that was really true. I was extremely happy.” Now he hopes to take part in the medal decision. “I’m more of the afternoon type. If I can make the time again or maybe even be a bit faster, the final will be pretty much guaranteed,” emphasized Bucher.
Heiko Gigler missed the semi-finals over 50 m freestyle as a heat 28. however clear. The 26-year-old from Carinthia struck in 22.48 seconds, well beating his personal record. “I felt really good, but unfortunately the form isn’t quite there,” said Gigler disappointed.
Source: Nachrichten
