Andrew Bree’s World Championships campaign got off to a ripping start when his £350 Jaked super suit tore before he could even compete in it.

“I got three holes in it and had to borrow another suit off an American friend. I couldn’t believe it. I took it to the Jaked shop to try and get a new one but they said they could only repair it which was no good because you can’t compete in a modified suit,” said Bree.

On a day when 16-year-old sensation Grainne Murphy broke the 13-year-old 200m IM Irish record of Michelle Smith, the Helen’s Bay man clocked 1:01.78 in the 100m breast heats in a borrowed suit, while Barry Murphy equalled his record with 1:01.76.

Murphy, who won three gold medals at the European juniors two weeks ago in Prague, said: “This means a great deal to me. It's so special because it's Michelle's Smith record that I've broken. You're not thinking about times in the water but I felt really good.

“It's been quite a few weeks for me, everything is just going to plan so well. I had a few nerves before the start but you always have that and it was only after the race that I thought about just who I was up against.”

Murphy also set a new Irish record for the 100m free with 49.98 when he led off team-mates Conor Leaney, Karl Burdis and Ryan Harrison to a new Irish relay best of 3:21.75. Harrison also set an Irish record of 3.55.88 for the 400m free.

Fiona Doyle clocked 56.67, a nwe 100m free best, helping relay team-mates Clare Dawson, Melanie Nocher and Niamh O'Sullivan to a new record of 3:47.21.

Jo Jackson and Rebecca Adlington claimed silver and bronze in the 400 metres freestyle at the championships in Rome.

Jackson touched in four minutes 00.60 seconds, with Adlington a battling third in 4:00.79.

Gold went to Italy's Federica Pellegrini, who became the first woman to cover 400 metres in less than four minutes with a time of 3:59.15.