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GRANT Hackett won’t start as the fastest qualifier in tonight’s 1500m freestyle final at the world championship trials in Sydney, but the dual Olympic champion is unconcerned.

Hackett will start from the unfamiliar territory of lane five after qualifying second behind West Australian Olympian Travis Nederpelt in yesterday morning’s heats.

It has been so long since Hackett has not been the fastest qualifier at the national trials in the 1500m, even he can’t remember when he last recorded a heat time slower than someone else.

Hackett swam a controlled 15min 36.10sec in his heat, two seconds slower than 19-year-old Nederpelt, who clocked 15:34.27 to show his growing improvement in the 30-lap event.

Hackett’s training partner, former Canadian Kurtis MacGillivary, was third fastest in 15:37.61.

Not worried about failing to top the time sheet in his pet event, Hackett said he felt strong and relaxed in his heat swim, which augured well for tonight’s final.

“It was really easy, I felt a lot better than my 800m heat so that’s encouraging,” the world record-holder said.

“The rhythm in my swimming feels a lot better than it has in a long time. I was happy with that.

“It doesn’t worry me [qualifying second], I was planning to swim 15:50 this morning so I went a fair bit faster than I thought I would.”

A sick Hackett started from lane three for last year’s Olympic final in Athens, but went on to stage a brave win for his second Olympic title. It was later revealed he had swum with a partially collapsed lung.

So good is he feeling now, 24-year-old Hackett said his fastest time in Australia, 14:45.60, could be under threat tonight.

Hackett has been getting better with each swim at the trials, having already won the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle.

Tonight he will be aiming to become the first person in 20 years to win all four freestyle events at the national trials.

* AUSTRALIA’S new sprint queen Alice Mills believes Jodie Henry’s 100m freestyle world record may be within reach after finally “banging down the door”.

Having defeated the two fastest swimmers in the event’s history, Mills is eager to see where she can take her times as she looks ahead to a maiden berth in the 100m at the world championships in July.

The 18-year-old has missed out on a top-two finish in the 100m for the past three years, but made an emphatic breakthrough on Thursday night to defeat Henry and Libby Lenton with her first sub-54 second swim and she is now the fourth fastest swimmer in history.

* MICHAEL Klim’s resurgence continued at the world championship trials last night when he seized his second win of the week in his former world record event, the 100m butterfly.

After his victory in the 100m freestyle on Wednesday night, Klim returned for an encore to book his second individual swim on the world championship team with his 53.08sec win ahead of Andrew Richards (53.52sec).

Sprint specialist Brett Hawke borrowed Klim’s bodysuit for the final of the men’s 50m freestyle, and scored a stylish win in 22.35sec from Jeff English.