PARIS — Swimmer Kayla Sanchez failed in her bid in the women’s 100m freestyle semifinals in the Paris Olympics on Tuesday but won’t go home empty-handed.

Sanchez became the latest member of the exclusive club of Filipino swimmers who made it to the semifinals since the great Teofilo Yldefonso won the country’s first medal in the 200m breaststroke of the 1928 Games.

The other Filipino swimmers in the elite club are three-time Olympian and an Asian Games champion Amman Jalmaani (1968) and Remedy Rule (Tokyo 2020).

Sanchez highlighted her performance by breaking her own national record after posting an impressive clocking of 53.67 seconds to finish at No. 10 among 29 swimmers in the heats.

But the night ended sourly for Sanchez as she struggled and finished a dismal seventh in her heat, her time of 54.21 was more than a second behind American Gretchen Walsh, who grabbed the eighth and last finals berth.

Sanchez’s previous national mark was 54.24 which she established in one of the heats during the Mel Zajac Jr. International Meet in Vancouver, Canada last June 23.

Hong Kong-China’s Siobhan Bernadette Haughey tar topped the semifinals in 52.64 seconds, followed by Australians Shayna Jack (52.72) and Mollie O’Callaghan (52.75).

Meanwhile, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said the Filipinos; campaign at the Paris Olympics remains strong and steadfast despite Eumir Felix Marcial’s emotional exit in men’s boxing on Tuesday night.

“Full speed ahead. The campaign for medals, especially gold, is hot on track.,” said Tolentino.

Tolentino described Marcial’s setback as an “extremely emotional loss” considering the sacrifice and dedication the bronze medalist in Tokyo 2020 poured for Paris.

“I know how painful it is for Eumir to bear the loss,” Tolentino said. “We feel his disappointment and frustration, but it’s not the end all for him.”

“But if we look at the tangibles, the light heavyweight is not for Eumir,” he said. “He’s small for the weight class, while the other boxers are bigger and heftier.”

Marcial’s bronze medal in Tokyo was at middleweight, but the division was scrapped for these Olympics.

Also in boxing, Aira Villega faces a stern test against Algeria’s Roumaysa Boualam in the Round of 16 of the women’s 51 kg boxing category on Thursday.

The 28-year-old Filipina boxer burst onto the Olympic scene with a commanding 5-0 victory over Morocco’s Yasmine Moutakki, giving the Philippines a strong start to its boxing campaign.

However, her next opponent is a formidable challenge.

Boualam, a 29-year-old veteran of two Olympic games, is a highly decorated boxer with a gold medal haul that includes victories at the 2023 African Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament, multiple African championships, the 2019 African Games, and the 2023 Arab Games.

She is also a trailblazer, being the first female boxer to represent Algeria at the Olympics.

Despite the daunting task ahead, Villegas believes her previous sparring sessions with Boualam could give her an edge.

“I’ve sparred with her before, but of course, an actual match is different,” Villegas said in Filipino. “We need to study her again and train hard.”

The Tacloban City native’s victory inspired her teammate, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio, who also secured a 5-0 win over India’s Jaismine Lamboria.

However, the Philippine boxing team suffered a setback with the early elimination of Tokyo bronze medalist Eumir Marcial, who lost to Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev in the men’s 80 kg category.

The bout between Villegas and Boualam is scheduled for 8:16 p.m. Paris time, which is 12:16 a.m. on Friday in the Philippines.

Earlier, Tolentino presented France Olympic Committee and Union Cycliste Internationale head David Lappartient a Philippine 100th-year Olympic participation pin during a testimonial dinner hosted by Olympic host France and the International Olympic Committee.

Tolentino and Lappartient are two of only four cycling federation presidents who are also heads of their national Olympic committees.