Glenister, a 2007 Temple High School graduate, will represent American Samoa in the 50-meter freestyle at 5:40 a.m. (6:40 p.m. in Beijing) on Thursday.

A cadet at the U.S. Military Academy, Glenister is American Samoa’s first male Olympic swimmer.

Glenister has the best time - 26.99 seconds - in his heat but ranks 73rd out of 97 swimmers entered in the event.

Australia’s Eamon Sullivan has the event’s fastest seed time at 21.28. Garrett Weber-Gale, a University of Texas graduate, has the top American time of 21.47.

Glenister, whose specialty is the 200 butterfly, has spent the spring and summer building muscle and adjusting to sprint swimming.

A broken leg last summer cost Glenister a chance to swim at the World Championships and potentially record an Olympic qualifying time in one of his stronger events. Without a time in the events he prefers, the International Olympic Committee selected his event.

Each country is allowed to enter one male and female swimmer if it has no athletes meeting the Olympic qualifying standard.

Glenister has strong ties to American Samoa, an island in the South Pacific. His father, Roland, was born and raised there. Glenister’s maternal grandfather, Peter T. Coleman, was appointed the nation’s first native-born governor and later became its first popularly elected governor in 1978.