Hart High graduate and two-time Olympic medalist Anthony Ervin finished third overall in the semifinals of the 50-meter freestyle today with a time of 21.62.

He advances to Friday's final, which can be seen live on nbcolympics.com at 12:09 p.m.

Ervin made his return to the Olympics after a 12-year hiatus this morning when he finished fourth overall in the preliminary round with a 21.83, the fourth fastest time of the prelims.

Ervin told Rolling Stone Magazine for its Aug. 2 issue that he was burnt out and disillusioned with the sport of swimming by the time he was 22 years old and thus quit competition. This after winning a gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle and silver in the 4x100-meter freestyle at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

The 1999 Hart graduate returned to the pool in 2010 and on July 1, the 31-year-old qualified for this year’s Olympics by finishing second at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb.