PAIR OF NATIONAL RECORDS IN POOL

BEIJING, CHINA, August 11: The men's 4x100 metres freestyle relay team and 19-year-old middle distance star Bronte Barratt have qualified for finals tomorrow by clocking Australian records at the National Aquatics Centre.

Leisel Jones was in record breaking form too, slicing a full second from the women's 100m breaststroke Olympic mark, while Jones, Tarnee White, Hayden Stoeckel, Ashley Delaney, Nic Sprenger, Emily Seebohm and Sophie Edington all progressed through to semi-finals. DAVID LYALL AOC REPORTS.....

In a dramatic ten minute period at the end of the session, the Australian relay team grabbed the third finals spot in their event with a stunning time of 3:12.41 - a mere 0.18 behind the USA team that shattered the world record in the same heat.

The team of Andrew Lauterstein (48.68), Leith Brodie (48.42), Patrick Murphy (48.09) and Matt Targett (47.22) held history's second fastest ever time for about five minutes until France bumped them back a spot with a 3:12.36.

Five teams - the USA, France, Australia, Italy and Sweden all qualified within half a second of each other and the first three teams were under the former world record established by the USA in 2006. Defending Olympic champions South Africa lurk in sixth.

It is likely that national record holder Eamon Sullivan and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games relay gold medallist Ashley Callus will come into the Australian team for the final tomorrow - strengthening the claims for a medal.

The Americans will also make changes with Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps and Garrett Weber-Gale to come in, as will the French with Fabien Gilot and world 100m freestyle record holder Alain Bernard.

Barratt powered to her Australian record of 4:04.16 to qualify fifth for the final.

The 19-year-old led at the halfway mark of her heat and then hung in over the last 200m for the best swim of her career.

Linda MacKenzie tired over the final 100m of her heat, stopping the clock in 4:05.91, good enough only for tenth overall. The 24-year-old finished eighth in the event at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

World record holder Jones got her campaign off to a brilliant start by establishing an Olympic record of 1:05.64 - the fourth fastest ever swum - slicing a full second off the former record set by China's Xuejuan Luo on her way to gold at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

The 22-year-old now holds the nine fastest times in history, the tenth slot occupied by compatriot Tarnee White who placed second in her heat tonight, clocking 1:07.83 and qualifying seventh for the semi-finals tomorrow morning.

Jones won the silver and White was seventh in this event at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games before Jones claimed the bronze four years later at the Athens Games. White did not swim in Athens.

After the race Jones was relaxed about her performance and confident she could improve further.

"I really just wanted to have a cruisey heat swim and I felt very relaxed during the race," Jones said.

"When I looked up and saw the time I was really quite surprised at how fast it was.

"I was hardly puffing so it is a good start for me. I can still improve on a few things and will have a look at the video tonight before the semi-final."

Olympic rookies Stoeckel and Delaney ensured Australia would have two representatives in the semi-finals of the men's 100m backstroke by going one-two in their heat and qualifying seventh and ninth.

Stoeckel got on the wall quickest in a tight finish to post a 53.93, a fingernail ahead of Delaney's 54.08.

The semi-final fields are the fastest in history and it will likely take personal best times by both Australians to qualify for the final. Delaney's best is the national record of 53.68, while Stoeckel is the equal second fastest Australian ever with a 53.78.

In the corresponding women's event, Seebohm and Edington cruised into the semi-finals after qualifying ninth and 14th. Racing in the same heat, Seebohm finished second in 1:00.27, while Edington clocked 1:00.65 and was sixth.

The fastest qualifier was Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, the silver medallist behind Australian Stephanie Rice in the 400m individual medley final this morning. Coventry set an Olympic record of 59.00 - the second fastest swim in history.

Seebohm burst onto the international scene as a 14-year-old at the 2007 World Championships when she led off Australia's gold medal winning, world record breaking 4x100m medley relay team. She was also fourth in the 100m backstroke.

Edington, the current world record holder for 50m backstroke (non Olympic event), was one of the stars of the 2006 Commonwealth Games, taking home three gold medals.

Sprenger was Australia's lone semi-final qualifier in the men's 200 metres freestyle with Kenrick Monk was a surprise casualty.

It took Sprenger a 1:47.64 to be 14th after the heats but Monk, who was fourth at the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne, laboured to the wall in 1:48.17 and could only manage 22nd place.

Sprenger won silver alongside Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett and Michael Klim in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

United States' superstar Michael Phelps looked comfortable qualifying fourth in 1:46.48.