China's Xu Jiayu praised rival Thomas Ceccon after finishing second to the Italian in the men's 100m backstroke final at the Paris Olympics on Monday.

Silver medalist Xu Jiayu of China shows his medal after the victory ceremony for the men's 100m backstroke of swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

Xu touched the wall just 0.32 seconds behind Ceccon and less than a tenth of a second faster than Ryan Murphy and Apostolos Christou.

"I think the result was pretty good," the 28-year-old said. "I was leading the race. I respect my opponent for beating me at the last moment. I was close to the gold medal."

Xu said his age could have counted against him in the final but vowed to come back stronger.

"Perhaps I'm too old," he said. "Age is a big factor. There are many competitive swimmers. I can learn from them as well and maybe win the gold medal next time."

He admitted to feeling under pressure going into Monday's final.

"Before the race I was anxious," he said. "For the past few days I wasn't sleeping well. I'm not looking for excuses, it's just a fact. I made small mistakes."

"But in the future I will do a lot better, be a leader. I think I can get glory for the Chinese team. I will work harder."

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