Former Buckeye Hunter Armstrong does not make 100m backstroke final at Paris Olympics
PARIS (WCMH) — Former Buckeye swimmer Hunter Armstrong will have to wait a little longer before he races in an individual Olympic final.
The 4x100m freestyle relay gold medalist was unable to qualify for Monday's final in the 100m backstroke. The world champion in the event finished fifth in his semifinal Sunday night in Paris and had the 11th fastest time, needing to be in the top-eight to qualify for the final.
Armstrong next hope of jumping back in the pool in Paris will be for either or both the men's medley relay or the mixed medley relay.
The night's finals brought excitement and joy for the French crowd as Leon Marchand claimed his first Olympic gold medal in a dominant performance in the 400m individual medley. Cincinnati native Carson Foster grabbed a bronze medal while Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita won silver.
In the women's 100m butterfly, American teammates Torri Huske and Gretchen Walsh battled at the line as Huske roared from the back to beat Walsh for gold by four hundredths of a second. China's Zhang Yufei took bronze.
The men's 100m breaststroke had a similar nail-biting finish as Italian Nicolo Martinenghi won gold by two hundredths of a second over Adam Peaty of Great Britain and Team USA's Nic Fink. Peaty and Fink finished with identical times and shared the silver medal.
Paris Olympics swimming continues Monday afternoon on NBC4 with five more finals set to take place.