TOKYO, Japan – Swimming on her 24th birthday yesterday, Joanna Evans came up short of her national record, and a spot in the final, in the women’s 400 meters (m) free at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Sunday.

Evans touched the wall in 4:07.50 – her second-fastest swim ever. She was second in her heat and 13th overall for the second straight Olympics. Five years ago in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she swam 4:07.60.

A disappointed Evans said she will just have to put it behind her and focus on her next event, the women’s 200m free, which takes place today at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Japan.

“I was hoping to sneak into the finals, but that’s not going to do it. It’s not what I was hoping for, but it could have been worse. Obviously, you always want to swim a personal best time, but it doesn’t always work out that way,” she said.

Just a couple months ago, at the Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite & Timed Trials, the former Texas Longhorns swimmer swam a national record time of 4:07.33, erasing the mark of 4:07.60 she did at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

She was hoping to go a bit faster yesterday and qualify for her first Olympic final, but came up a bit short.

Muhan Tang, of China, secured the final qualifying spot for the final, finishing in 4:04.07 in the fourth heat. American world record holder Katie Ledecky had the fastest qualifying time for the final, swimming 4:00.45.

As for Evans, she led her race for 350 meters before being passed on the home stretch by Julia Hassler of Liechtenstein. Hassler won that heat in 4:06.98 and was 12th overall, one spot ahead of Evans.

Evans went into the final two heats in second place, but both swimmers were passed by four swimmers in the third heat, and seven in the fourth and final heat.

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