Maltese swimmer Andrew Chetcuti was the first local athlete in action yesterday, where he took part in a swimming event: the third heat of the 100m freestyle race.

He finished third in this heat, with a time of 51 seconds .67, which is a new national record.

The third heat was won by Albanian with a time of 51 seconds .11.

Despite the good result, Chetcuti failed to qualify for the semi-finals.

His final classification was that of 39th place out of a total of 60 participants.