Bermuda's Ronald Cowen qualified for the semi-finals of the men's

100m freestyle with a superb personal best performance at the

Commonwealth Games today.

Cowen and fellow Bermudian Roy-Allan Burch were both in heat three of the event at the Manchester Aquatics Centre, Cowen in lane one and Burch in lane eight.

Cowen finished 6th in 52.77 seconds, just under a second below his entry time, while Burch finished eighth in 54.86.

With the top 16 going through to the semi-finals from 37 swimmers,

Cowen's time was good enough for 15th and an appearance this

evening.

Burch also did well in his debut meet on this stage, coming 23rd

overall.

Australia's Ian Thorpe, known to all as the Thorpedo, also qualified

for the semis, coming home fastest in 49.76.

Thorpe, who expressed disappointment with his time in Wednesday

night's 200m freestyle when he clinched his third gold of the Games

and broke the Commonwealth Record, said: "That was a pretty big

heat. I didn't think it would be the fast this morning."