Lauren Boyle has taken almost five seconds off her own 800 metre national freestyle record, in qualifying seventh fastest for the final at the world swimming champs in Shanghai.
The 23-year-old Boyle swam eight minutes, 28 point five seconds, to qualify for her second final of the meet, having been part of the 4 x 200m freestyle relay team which reached the final of that event.
Boyle's coach Mark Regan says he'd been concerned with the big workload on Boyle at the championships, after swimming the 200m, 400m, and relay on top of the 800 metres.
He says she'll welcome a day off before tonight's final.
The Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain was the fastest qualifier six seconds faster than Boyle.
New Zealand's Melissa Ingram also qualified for the semi-final of the 200 backstroke.
It means this New Zealand team has become the most successful in terms of number of finals and semi-finals.
They have now qualified in four finals and six semi-finals which bettered the previous best in 2007, although Danyon Loader's lone haul of three medals in 1994 is the best terms of medal hauls.
