The feat by the 19-year-old athlete at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil erased the old record of 53.33s set by former national swimmer, Daniel Bego, at the World Championships in Rome, Italy, in 2009.

Bryan admitted he did not expect to rewrite his idol’s record but was happy to present Federal Territory with four gold medals in the championship.

“I just can’t believe and didn’t really expect to break the national record especially when it is such an outstanding record by Daniel since 2009. It is really exciting and I was happy to be able to break the record today.

“It is just a 0.01s difference so it is good as I also did my personal best as well as broke the national record. In Hanoi, I also broke the national record in the 50m freestyle by just 0.01s,” he said when met by reporters.

The silver medal in the event was won by Selangor swimmer Ng Tze Xiang in 54.72s while Leow Zheng Yong of Melaka, who recorded 55.82s, had to settle for the bronze.

Earlier, Bryan collected three golds from the 50m butterfly, 50m breaststroke and 4x100m freestyle relay events.

He will be competing in two more events tomorrow, the 50m freestyle and the 4x100m individual medley.

“After Sukma, I will return to England to continue my studies and training because next year there are many events such as the World Championships. I need to try and qualify to represent Malaysia,” he said.