Olympic champion Pan Zhanle misses out on 100m freestyle final at Aquatics Worlds

SINGAPORE, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Olympic gold medalist Pan Zhanle failed to qualify for the men's 100-meter freestyle final at the World Aquatics Championships here on Wednesday, finishing 10th overall in the semifinal.

The 20-year-old Chinese, who set the world record of 46.40 seconds en route to winning Olympic gold last year in Paris, clocked 47.81 seconds in the semifinal.

American Jack Alexy topped the semifinal in 46.81 seconds, closely followed by Romania's David Popovici at 46.84.

Pan also missed out on the semifinal in the 200-meter freestyle earlier in the tournament. He gained international recognition in Paris by winning the 100m title and helping China to victory in the men's 4x100m medley relay. ■