Julian Fletcher is still striving for an Olympic qualifying time after a below-par performance at the World Swimming Championships in Kazan, Russia.

Fletcher, who competed at last month’s Pan Am Games in Toronto, finished 52nd out of 76 swimmers in the 100 metres breaststroke with his third quickest time of 1min 3.80sec.

The 24-year-old struggled to produce his best form in the 200 — his favourite event — placing 49th in 2:21.39, which was his fourth fastest time.

Ben Smith, the Bermuda head coach, admitted that Fletcher did not enjoy the best of Championships and believed he may have already peaked in Toronto, where he finished fifth in the 100 B final and seventeenth in the 200.

“The challenge for Julian this summer was trying to peak at the Pan Am Games and then hold his speed until the World Championships,” Smith said.

“He may have been caught between the two events as he felt amazing last week during training camp.”

Fletcher, who competes for the University of Southern California’s Elite Team, added: “It could have been a better swim but everything wasn’t adding up to the performance.

“I’m happy with the way I’ve improved this season and look forward to training for the upcoming Olympic year.”

Also representing Bermuda in Kazan is Rebecca Heyliger who swam her second fastest time in the 100 freestyle to place 57th out of 90 competitors in 58.71.

Smith said: “Although this was Rebecca’s second fastest time, she had her sights set higher. Although she wasn’t happy with the 100 as a whole, her easy speed in the first 50 gives her confidence going into her main event, the 50 freestyle on Saturday.”

Both Fletcher and Heyliger prepared for the Championships by attending a training camp in Rome with their University of Southern California team-mates.