PARIS — Kenyan swimmer Maria Brunlehner narrowly missed out on a semi-final berth in the women’s 50m freestyle at the Paris Olympics, despite a commendable performance in her heat on Saturday.

Brunlehner, competing in the seventh heat of the event, finished third with a time of 25.82 seconds. The heat was won by Thailand’s Jenjira Srisa-Ard, who clocked 25.18 seconds, followed by Anick Delgado of Ecuador in 25.43 seconds.

To advance to the semi-finals, Brunlehner needed to rank among the top 16 swimmers overall. However, with 27 swimmers recording faster times, she did not progress to the next stage.

The 24-year-old athlete secured her spot at the Olympics through a university allocation and had expressed high hopes for her debut performance. “I just want to do my best and see myself as a competitor, not compare myself with other swimmers,” said Brunlehner, a student at Grand Canyon University in the United States. “I’d like to hopefully get a best time and break the Kenyan record.”

Brunlehner had previously set a national record with a time of 26.12 seconds at the Doha World Championships earlier this year. Despite improving her time in Paris, it was not enough to advance beyond the heats.