Swimmer Ernie Gawilan falls short of advancing to Tokyo Paralympics finals

Ernie Gawilan missed out on a final round seat in the men's 200m Individual Medley at the Tokyo Paralympics.

The seasoned Filipino para-swimmer clocked 2 minutes and 50.49 seconds to finish fifth out of six participants in Heat 1, but he formally bowed out of contention after ranking ninth overall on Friday at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

Only the top eight swimmers after the two heats will progress to the medal round slated for Friday night.

Despite the setback, Gawilan still has two remaining events as the 30-year-old tanker will still compete in the 400m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

On Thursday, another Filipino para-swimmer, Gary Bejino, failed to advance to the final round of the men's 200m Individual Medley SM6 event.

Bejino still has three remaining events. —JCB, GMA News