London, England: Swimmer Khalid Ismaeel Baba became the first Bahraini representative to compete in the 2012 London Olympics but even a personal best time was not enough to see him advance in the men's 100m butterfly. Taking off in the unseeded and first of six heats alongside regional rivals Sofian Al Gadi (Libya) and Mohaned Ahmed Dheyaa Al Azzawi (Iraq), the 15-year-old endured a poor start but did well to compose himself and produce a strong second length.

As a wildcard entrant to the 2012 Olympics, the youngster was never expected to challenge a strong field of 43 swimmers for one of the 16 semi-final places, but his time of 1:04.05 shaved over a second off his PB: 1:05.09 recorded at the GCC Championships in Kuwait earlier this year. Indeed, Al Gadi's heat-winning time of 56.99 was still some way off the slowest qualifying time for the semi-finals of 52.36.

Speaking ahead of the race, Bahrain's national swimming team coach Khalid Ahmed, who has been overseeing training by young Khalid and fellow teenage Olympian Sara Al Fulaij in London for the last couple of weeks, said breaking his personal best time should be his main goal.

Having represented Bahrain at the FINA World Championships in Shanghai last year as well as regional competitions, this London experience will undoubtedly provide a new highlight for Khalid and his family, which also includes swimming brothers Ali and Mohammed, in his fledgling career.

Rami Ayoob, Bahrain Olympic Committee