Joseph Schooling clocked 2min 00.49sec in the men's 200m medley early Thursday morning, finishing eighth in his semi-final at the World Championships.

He did not advance to the final, after being placed last among the semi-finalists. Schooling, 18, was the youngest to make the top 16, a field that included just four other Asians - two each from Japan and China.

He had earlier in the heats become the first Singaporean to break the two-minute barrier in this event, clocking 1:59.99 to rewrite his own national record (2:00.77).

American Ryan Lochte was the fastest qualifier, clocking 1:57.07.