He was the seventh fastest out of 21 swimmers in the heat at the brand new Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

Only the top eight swimmers from three heats progress to the final, to be held later today.

The national record holder clocked 3:50.03s to finish fourth in Heat 3 on his Games debut.

Elijah Winnington of Australia won the race after he recorded 3:48.32s while his compatriot Sam Short came in second in 3:48.48s and New Zealand’s Matthew Sates in third with 3:49.69s.

Meanwhile, top women’s swimmer Phee Jinq En made the cut to the semifinals after she finished 14th out of 33 swimmers in the women’s 50m breaststroke heat.

Jinq En took fifth place after finishing in 32.80s in heat four behind home swimmer Imogen Clark, who came out tops in 30.26s followed by South Africa’s Kaylene Corbett (31.07s) and Aussie Abbey Harkin (31.48s) in third.

Only the 16 best swimmers out of five heats advance to the semis also later today.

However, it was a race to forget for youngster Bryan Leong as he failed to make his mark in the men’s 50m butterfly, clocking 24.50s to finish seventh in Heat 6.