Roy Allan Burch says he’s delighted with his record-breaking 100 metres freestyle performance in Italy over the weekend but believes he can go even faster.

Having smashed his own national record earlier this month, the Olympian set a new mark in a meet in Bolzano, touching the wall in 49.27 seconds on his way to a fourth-place finish.

“I was able to sneak under my record again which I was very happy about,” said Burch yesterday.

“I attempted to swim under 49 seconds which would have been another huge barrier for me while still under heavy training.

“The pain in the last 15 metres was tremendous and I believe I made a few mistakes which caused me some time.

“I also swam out of the first heat so I wasn’t pushed by the field.

“With that being said, I’m happy to be improving with each race and the future looks bright in terms of my performances.”

Germany’s Steffen Deibler won the race in of 48.49.

Lorenzo Benatti from Italy finished second, clocking a time of 49.14, while the Czech Republic’s Thomas Plevko finished third with a time of 49.24.

Earlier this month Burch dipped under 50 seconds for the first time in a meet in Genoa, Italy,

when he was timed in 49.49 seconds.

He then lowered that time on his way to a silver medal at the same meet, hitting the pad in 49.29 seconds.