At the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania, a young Portuguese swimmer had a day to remember. Miguel Oliveira, just 16 years old, set a new national youth record in the 50-meter backstroke. He swam the race during the preliminary heats on Thursday, etching his name into the record books once again.
Oliveira touched the wall with a time of 26.22 seconds. This impressive swim broke his own record of 26.29 seconds, which he had set on July 25 in Coimbra. His performance in Romania placed him 21st overall in a competitive field of 87 swimmers. Among swimmers his own age, he was the fifth fastest in the world.
While a new record is a huge achievement, his time was just shy of what was needed to advance. The cutoff for the semi-finals was 25.97 seconds. The fastest swimmer in the heats was Gavin Keogh of the United States, who finished with a blistering time of 25.18 seconds.
In another event, Portugal’s Zara Rojas took on the 50-meter butterfly. She completed her race in 27.55 seconds, earning her the 31st spot out of 103 swimmers. The final spot in the semi-finals was claimed with a time of 27.14 seconds. The top time in the heats belonged to Mizuki Hirai of Japan.
The action isn’t over for the Portuguese team. On Saturday, Gonçalo Azevedo will compete in the 100-meter freestyle. Zara Rojas will also return to the pool for the 100-meter butterfly.