RIO DE JANIERO – Caylee Watson of American University and the U.S. Virgin Islands finished sixth in her heat of the women's 100-meter backstroke Sunday at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Watson, a rising senior at AU, finished 30th overall with a time of 1:07.19. She is the fifth Eagle swimmer to compete in the Olympic Games and the first since 2000.
The mark Sunday in Rio is her best in major international competition. She went 1:09.90 in the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona and 1:07.34 in the 2015 Worlds in Kazan, Russia.
There were 34 athletes competing in preliminary heats of the 100 back on Sunday, with 16 advancing to semifinals on Sunday night. The cutoff for a spot in the semifinals was 1:00.89, with Kathleen Baker of the U.S. posting a 58.84 for the best qualifying time.
Watson went out in 31.71 over the first 50 meters in her heat, which was won in 1:01.27 by Claudia Lau of Hong Kong.
Watson is one of two swimmers representing the U.S. Virgin Islands at the Olympics.
