Ernie Gawilan failed to land at the medal podium of the men’s 400-meter freestyle S7 after finishing sixth in the Tokyo Paralympics Sunday, Aug. 29 at the Tokyo Aquatics Center.
The 2018 Asian Para Games gold medalist timed 4 minutes and 56.24 seconds behind Israel’s Mark Malyar, who bagged the gold medal with a new world record of 4:31.06.
Ukraine’s Andrii Trusov went home with the silver with 4:35.56, while United States’ Evan Austrin pocketed the bronze with 4:38.95.
Finishing fourth and fifth were Argentina’s Inaki Basiloff (4:38.99) and Italy’s Federico Bicelli (4:43.67).
Gawilan booked a spot in the finals after also finishing sixth in the combined two-heat group in the morning with a time of 4:58.58.
Though he clocked faster in the finals, it was still not enough to land a medal.
He still has another shot at the medal when he competes in the men’s 100m backstroke S7 on Monday, Aug. 30.