Croatian Swimmer Hribar Misses Paris Final by Five Hundredths

Croatian swimmer Jere Hribar narrowly missed a spot in the 50-meter freestyle final at the European Championships in Paris. The 22-year-old athlete secured 10th place overall in the semifinals, falling just short of advancing to the medal race. He will remain a reserve for the final, having been edged out by a mere five hundredths of a second.

In the semifinal heats, Hribar finished fourth in his group with a time of 21.77 seconds. He was surpassed by Ukraine's Vladislav Bukhov (21.51), Italy's Giovanni Guatti (21.72), and France's Maxime Grousset (21.76). Notably, six swimmers in the other semifinal group recorded times faster than Hribar's, including Ukraine's Nikita Sheremet, who was the fastest with 21.38.

Earlier in the championships, Hribar had a strong performance in the morning qualifications, achieving his personal best time of 21.62 seconds, which was the second-fastest overall. He had previously secured fifth place in the 100-meter freestyle and was part of the 4x100 freestyle relay team that won a bronze medal. Croatian swimmer Amina Kajtaz Pinjo is scheduled to compete in the 200-meter butterfly semifinals later in the day. The Croatian national record for the 50-meter freestyle is still held by Duje Draganja with a time of 21.29.