Ernie Gawilan barely misses 200-meter IM finals cut

Ernie Gawilan missed out on his first chance to take a Tokyo Paralympic medal. From his Facebook account

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Para-swimmer Ernie Gawilan came up just short of getting his first shot for the elusive Paralympic gold after missing the cut for the men's 200-meter individual medley final after the preliminary heats on Friday at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre.

Gawilan finished fifth in Heat 1 with a time of two minutes and 50.49 seconds.

But when the results of Heat 2 came out, he fell to ninth overall and missed his first chance at a medal.

Gawilan was eight seconds behind the last qualifier, Pipo Carlomagno of Argentina, who was fourth in Heat 2.

The top three finishers in Heat 1 will headline the Final 8 in the said event.

Mark Malyar of Israel took the heat at the time of 2:32.86.

Inaki Basiloff of Argentina came in second with 2:33.23, while Andril Trusov of Ukraine finished third at 2:34.35.

Evan Austin and Rudy Tolson of the United States, CD Zarate of Colombia, and Christian Sadie of South Africa complete the cast for the final set later Friday.

Austin, Zarate, and Sadie took the top three spots in Heat 2, while Tolson, like Carlomagno, qualified through the next two fastest.

Gawilan will return to action on Sunday for the preliminary round of the men's 400-meter freestyle.

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