Anna Hopkin’s impressive Olympic debut continued with another fast time on her way to a seventh-placed finish in a fierce women’s 100m freestyle final in Tokyo.

Up against a packed field, the Chorley swimmer – fresh from a British record in the heats – was unfazed and took the race out hard, turning just 0.06 seconds down on her 50m start from that opening round.

The back 50m was just as good from the 25-year-old and she did not let up down the home straight, staying strong to finish narrowly outside that British best and hold her own on the sport’s biggest stage, ahead of more important swims in the upcoming medley relays.

Australia’s Emma McKeon clocked an Olympic record time of 51.96 to win gold.

“That was a big goal, to get close to what I did in the heats – that was an out-of-the-blue swim,” Hopkin said.

“To back that up shows how consistent I am. Obviously you always want to go faster, but I think I’ve showed I can cope in this arena and put out those swim.

“It’s been an amazing year for me. I was in America and then made the move to Loughborough to train with Mel (Marshall). The belief in myself has grown so much from working with Mel and Neil Harper (before that), I feel in a great spot.

“The mixed medley relay is going to be an exciting race, the guys did an amazing job yesterday. I’ve got to bring my best tomorrow and hopefully we can get a medal there.”

Hopkin started her swimming career with Chorley Marlins aged eight and progressed to the Gallica performance squad before moving to Blackburn Centurions.