British three-time Olympic champion Adam Peaty came sixth as Qin Haiyang won the 100m breaststroke final at the World Cup event in Berlin.
Peaty, 28, had last competed in March and was fifth fastest in the heats as he made his competitive return.
China’s Qin won the final in dominant fashion with a World Cup record of 57.69 seconds.
Peaty, who won Olympic gold in the 100m breaststroke in 2016 and 2021, finished in 59.85.
The race was the first time Peaty had competed against Qin since the Chinese swimmer completed a historic breaststroke golden treble – winning the 50m, 100m and 200m events – at the World Championships this summer.
Qin holds the 200m breaststroke record and the 24-year-old has said he is targeting Peaty’s 100m record of 56.88s.
