Cris Nievarez of the Philippines rowed steadily across the Sea Forest Waterway course on Sunday (July 25), but his effort was not enough to get him into the top three, and he was knocked out of medal contention in the men’s singles sculls quarterfinals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Nievarez came in fifth place in his heat with a time of 7:50.74. He ran about 34 seconds slower than Lithuanian Mindaugas Griskonis, who finished third (7:16.71).
With a time of 7:12.75, Oliver Zeidler of Germany took first place, followed by Luca Verthein Ferreira of Brazil in second place with a time of 7.14.26.
As the race progressed, Zeidler gradually pulled away from the group and cruised to victory.
Griskonis, on the other hand, had a chance to climb the ranks after passing Verthein for second with 500 meters to go in the two-kilometer circuit before the latter regained his bearing and took second place.
Jordan Parry of New Zealand was in a close race with Griskonis and even Verthein for the final semifinal spot, but he slowed halfway through the race and ultimately fell short despite a strong finish.
In each heat, only the top three rowers progress to the semifinal A/B medal rounds. Nievarez’s journey, though, will continue on Tuesday when he participates in the semifinal C/D for final classification (July 27).
Despite not winning a medal, Nievarez made history by becoming the first Filipino rower to ever reach the Summer Games quarterfinals.
Nievarez finished third in Heat 5 of the men’s single sculls with a time of 7:22.97 on Friday, behind Croatia’s Damir Martin, the 2016 Olympic silver winner, who finished first with a time of 7:09.17 and Russia’s Alexander Vyazovkin, who placed second with a time of 7:14.95.