KUALA LUMPUR: National swimmer Bryan Leong did well to break his own national record in the men's 100 metre butterfly at the Doha World Aquatics Championships today.
Bryan clocked 52.78s in the preliminaries to beat his previous national mark of 52.96s which he had set at last year's Fukuoka World Championships.
His time placed him 21st overall from 66 swimmers in the event. Only the top-16 advanced to the semi-finals.
Austria's Simon Bucher (51.42s), Japan's Katsuhiro Matsumoto (51.60s) and Netherland's Nyls Korstanje (51.70s) rounded out the top-three.
Bryan was pleased with his timing.
"I was just trying my best to get a personal best. I always try to improve on my times during major competitions," said Bryan.
Bryan is the second Malaysian to break a national record in Doha.
Earlier this week, Khiew Hoe Yean bettered his own national mark in the men's 800m freestyle event.
Hoe Yean will compete in the men's 1,500m freestyle while Phee Jinq En will take to the pool for the women's 50m breaststroke tomorrow.