BRISBANE - Emily Seebohm broke the national record in the 100 metres backstroke at the Australian championships on Thursday.

Seebohm, 18, finished in a time of 56.58 seconds, taking 0.39 seconds off Marieke Guehrer’s mark set at the 2009 FINA World Cup in Singapore.

It was the first Australian record of the 2010 national short-course swimming titles at Brisbane Aquatic Centre.

“I was still in shock. It didn’t sink in until I was up on the medal dais that I got the Australian record. I should have been more excited. I went into the (second) race just thinking about the IM, I totally forgot about the backstroke I switched off from it,” said Seebohm.

“It’s nice to have the 100m backstroke over and done with, a little bit of pressure is off, so that I can relax and have fun with the rest of it. It will be really exciting tomorrow night with the 100 free and 100 IM (finals).”