Australia’s Seebohm qualifies fastest in 100 backstroke

Australia’s Emily Seebohm starts in a women’s 100-meter breaststroke swimming heat at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

LONDON — Emily Seebohm of Australia qualified fastest in the 100-meter backstroke preliminaries with an Olympic-record time at the London Games.

Seebohm touched in 58.23 seconds on Sunday morning, lowering the old mark of 58.77 set by Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe four years ago in Beijing.

Missy Franklin, the 17-year-old American competing in her first Olympics, was second-quickest at 59.37. She earned a bronze medal as part of the US 4×100 freestyle relay on the first night of swimming Saturday.

Australian Belinda Hocking was third at 59.61. Coventry, the silver medalist in the last two Olympics, barely advanced to the evening semifinals. She qualified 15th among 16 women.