By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno  

(File photo)

MANILA – Gary Bejino struggled in his first event for the Tokyo Paralympics and missed out on a medal in the said para-swimming race, the men’s 200-meter individual medley.

Bejino finished last among 17 participants in the preliminary phase of the event on Thursday at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

Bejino, who played in Heat 2, clocked in at three minutes and 17.19 seconds, way behind heat winner Andrei Granichka of Russia, who finished a shade under 2:46.

Granichka will vie for a medal in the championship round later Thursday alongside Colombia’s Nelson Crispin, who had the fastest time in the preliminaries after going first in Heat 3 at 2:43.07, Jia Hongguang, Yang Hong, and Wang Jingang of China, Juan Gutierrez of Mexico, Talisson Glock of Brazil, and Zach Shattuck of the United States.

Bejino still has another crack at gold as he will be in Heat 1 of the 50-meter butterfly preliminaries at 8:36 a.m. Monday. (PNA)