Singapore swimmer Rachel Tseng set a national short-course record in the women's 400m freestyle yesterday, clocking 4min 11.11sec in the heats of the short-course World Swimming Championships in Hangzhou, China.

The 20-year-old went below Lynette Lim's 4:12.24 set in 2013 at the Berlin leg of the Fina Swimming World Cup.

Tseng, who was part of the gold-winning 4x200m freestyle quartet at the last two SEA Games, was fourth in her heat and 21st overall.

She said: "The national record was one of the main goals I had set with my coaches at Northwestern University. Having translated it into reality is a good sign things are starting to fall into place.

"There are still many things I can work on. Apart from the technicalities, I have also learnt to trust that the training and hard work have placed me in good stead for my races."

Australian teenager Ariarne Titmus, the top finisher in the heats, won the event in a world record of 3:53.92 last night.

Nicole Chia