Olympian Emma Harvey failed to make the starting block for the 100 metres backstroke at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday morning.

Harvey, who had competed in the semi-finals of the 50 metres butterfly the night before was absent from her backstroke heat and had earlier in the week been suffering from a heavy cold.

Donna Raynor, chef de mission for the Bermuda team at the Games in Glasgow, revealed the thinking behind Harvey’s decision.

“The coach made the call with the team this morning for Emma to sit out and focus on her remaining events this week,” Raynor said.

“She’s got a tight schedule ahead and we’re prioritising getting her in the best possible position for those events.”

Harvey is scheduled to compete in the 100 metres butterfly on Sunday and the 50 metres backstroke on Monday.

There was still one Bermudian in action in the Saturday morning pool session, with Elijah Daley competing in the 100 metres butterfly heats.

Daley finished second in his heat with an impressive time of 55.36sec. Competing at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre, he finished nineteenth fastest of the 36 competitors. He missed progressing to the evening semi-finals by just 0.58.

“I thought it was a pretty solid swim and I’m happy with it,” Daley said.

“The turn was pretty good and I’m sure that was my best time, which would be great. I executed it how I wanted for the most part and It was a pretty decent race.”

Daley appeared to lead his heat all the way, just missing out on first place to Namibia’s Oliver Durand, who won in 54.42, setting a new Namibian record. The fastest swimmer in the heats was Australian national record holder Matthew Temple, in 51.30.

“I almost made it to the semi-finals, but I gave it my all and that’s all I can ask for,” Daley said. “These guys are really strong.”

The 20-year-old was fourteenth fastest in the 200 metres individual medley on Friday, again just missing out on the semi-finals but he is enjoying the Commonwealth Games experience.

“I've really enjoyed it,” he said. “It's such a great environment and being around the best makes you better just in terms of observing and stuff like that. It's all a learning experience for me. I'm really grateful and glad to be here and representing Bermuda.”