York’s James Wilby missed out on securing a place in the men’s 100 metres breaststroke final at the Olympic games as his teammate Adam Peaty sets his sights on making history.

The 30-year-old was unable to join Peaty in Sunday’s final after finishing 0.11s outside the top-eight qualifying times.

He secured his place in Saturday’s semi-final after finishing fourth in the heat and sixth overall in a time of 59.4 seconds.

"That race was a really nice little set-up, but a little sloppy in some places,” he told the BBC after qualifying for the semi-final. “I'm really happy to have come out with a time like that.

“Hopefully I'll be in a reasonable place in the semi-finals. Hopefully.

"It's results-dependent, but it's looking okay at the moment.

"Across the board it wasn't that fast."

Paris was Wilby’s second Olympics after competing behind closed doors at the delayed 2021 games in Tokyo, where he finished fifth and sixth in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and took silver in the 100m medle.

James WilbyJames Wilby (Image: David Davies/PA Wire)

Ahead of this year’s games, the former Huntington School student, who began his journey into the sport with York City Baths Swimming Club, paid a touching tribute to mum Fiona, a nurse in the NHS, after taking silver in Tokyo, saying having his family along for the ride in Paris is something he holds dear.

“I've had an unconventional rise into the sport,” he told BBC Radio York. “I’ve been very adamant to achieve things that a lot of the time people have said that I wouldn’t be able to achieve, and that’s something that’s going to continue."

Paris could be Wilby's last Olympics, admits swimmer

Wilby will be 34 when the 2028 Olympics take place in Los Angeles, and admitted that Paris will likely be his last games.

“I’ve achieved a lot, and I think another four years is probably a stretch,” he said. “I never like to be definite, but I suppose at some point that is going to happen.

“I love the Commonwealth Games, and there is a part of me that had 2026 as an amazing time to finish, but that’s up in the air at moment. There’ll certainly be an extended break after these games.”

Peaty, meanwhile, remains on course for a historic third Olympic title in the men’s 100 metres breaststroke as he set up a tantalising showdown against Qin Haiyang in Sunday’s final.

The pair won their respective semi-finals but it is Peaty who has the psychological upper hand after clocking 58.86 seconds, which was 0.07 secs quicker than his Chinese rival at La Defense Arena.

Peaty is seeking to become just the second male swimmer after Michael Phelps to win Olympic gold at three successive Games, having triumphed at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.