SINGAPORE - Swimmer Toh Wei Soong broke his own men's S7 50m freestyle national record to finish seventh in final at the Tokyo Paralympics on Tuesday (Aug 31).

The 22-year-old clocked 28.65sec at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, eclipsing the 29.01sec mark he first clocked at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta and earlier in the heats.

Toh was pleased to set a national record and said "it's been a great couple of days" at his debut Paralympic Games.

"I'm very happy with the experience - being able to train in a world-class pool, to compete in a world-class facility and to share these moments with so many talented athletes who I have had the privilege of competing against for years.

"I'm in a very good head space now and the plan is just to continue maintaining this good feeling, this confidence, going into the race on Friday. There are targets and expectations I have for myself, but when it really comes down to it, focusing too hard on those expectations is not what's going to get you the results."

The event was won by Ukraine's Andrii Trusov in 27.43sec while compatriot Yevhenii Bohodaiko took the bronze in 27.99sec. Colombian Carlos Daniel Serrano Zarate (27.84sec) separated the two Ukrainians.

Toh, who was in lane eight next to Serrano Zarate, said: "I was smiling because of the swimmer next to me, Carlos. Seeing the excitement in his face when he won the silver, it would be very difficult not to share that moment with him, having raced him for many years now."

In his first event on Sunday, he finished seventh in the S7 400m freestyle final. Toh, who has transverse myelitis - a condition caused by the inflammation of the spinal cord, will compete in the S7 50m butterfly on Friday.