Japanese teenager Akihiro Yamaguchi set a world record in the 200-metre breaststroke on Saturday at a national swimming meet, nearly breaking the two minutes, seven seconds barrier.

The 18-year-old Yamaguchi clocked 2:07.01 at the event in Gifu to shave 0.27 seconds off the mark set by Hungary's Daniel Gyurta when he won gold at the London Olympics.

Yamaguchi was left off the Japanese Olympic team after finishing behind four-time gold medallist Kosuke Kitajima in the national trials. Kitajima failed to win an individual medal in London, but now looks to have found a natural successor in the breaststroke events.