Ohio State swimmer Hunter Armstrong didn't make the final for the Olympic 100-meter backstroke, but he came about as close as he possibly could have.

Armstrong tied for 9th in Sunday night's semifinals with a time of 53.21 seconds – just one-hundredth of a second slower than the eighth-place time, which would have learned him the last spot in the final.

Fortunately for Armstrong, his rise as a swimmer is just beginning, as our Colin Hass-Hill documented in June; the 20-year-old is entering his junior year with the Buckeyes.