In his first competition since joining the Italy-based ADN Swim Project earlier this month, Shinri Shioura had the fourth-fastest time in the 50-meter freestyle final on Friday at the 52nd Settecolli Internazionali d'Italia di Nuoto meet in Rome.
The 23-year-old Kanagawa Prefecture native completed the race in 22.35 seconds.
France's Florent Manaudou won the race with a time of 21.64 seconds. Finland's Ari-Pekka Liukkonen and Ukraine's Andrey Govorov shared the second-best time (22.09) in freestyle sprint in the Italian capital.
Shioura, who earned a bronze medal on Japan's 4x100 medley relay at the 2013 FINA World Aquatics Championships, is training in Italy in preparation for the upcoming world championships, which will be held in Kazan, Russia, in early August.