Emma Harvey set yet another national record in the 100 metres backstroke at the World Aquatics Championship in Doha yesterday.

Swimming in heat five of the six heats, Harvey finished seventh in 1min 1.88sec behind Canada’s Ingrid Wilm, a five-times medal-winner at the world championships, but knocked 0.11sec off her previous best, which was set at the Tyr Pro Swim Series in Knoxville, Tennessee, last month.

Harvey’s time meant she agonisingly missed out on a place in the semi-finals by 0.08 seconds, finishing nineteenth of the 56 swimmers, with the top 16 making it through to the next round, but she was delighted to set another new milestone in her career.

“I was super pleased with that swim and a new best and a national record,” Harvey said.

“To be able to do that at a prelims session at an event like this is always really great, so I’m very happy.

“It is a bummer to miss out on the semi finals by 0.08sec but I’m really proud of myself because even six months ago I was nowhere close to making the semis, so to make that progress in a short amount of time, I am really proud of myself.”

The 22-year-old will be busy in Qatar this week, competing in the 50 metres backstroke tomorrow, the 50 metres butterfly on Friday and the 50 metres freestyle on Saturday, and it is in that last event that she is hoping to make the Olympic breakthrough.

“It’s always an honour to represent Bermuda so I’m just really happy and excited for the rest of the week to hopefully make it back at night, make some semi-finals and maybe even make the Olympic cut late on in the week in the 50 freestyle.

“I’m pleased and looking forward to the rest of the world championships.

Harvey is in the best form of her young career and has broken a string of national records recently, including the 100 metres backstroke twice, including at the Pan American Games in Chile in October.

She now also holds the 50 metres freestyle record after wrestling it off Madelyn Moore at the Toyota US Open in California in December, while last month she became the first Bermudian woman to go under 56 seconds when breaking Moore’s record in the 100 freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series.

She has also lowered her own national records in the 100 metres butterfly, becoming the first Bermuda swimmer and is knocking on the door of becoming an Olympian, with now just 0.1sec to find in the 100 back, 0.23sec away from qualifying in the 100 butterfly and 0.26 from securing a spot in the 50 metres freestyle, with June 1 the deadline to achieve those times