MELBOURNE - Lara van Niekerk advanced to the final of the 100m breaststroke at the Swimming Championships.
Van Niekerk powered to victory in her heat in a speedy one minute, 03.93 seconds to qualify fastest for the semifinals.
She came within four-hundredths of a second of Tatjana Schoenmaker's national and continental records.
However, the 19-year-old was slightly slower in her semi-final, finishing joint second to qualify joint fifth fastest for Thursday's final.