Ten-year-old girl competes at World Championships

A 10-year-old has set a new record as the youngest swimmer to compete at a World Championships after Alzain Tareq from Bahrain took her place in the 50m butterfly heats in Kazan.

Tareq, who has a Scottish mother, finished last in her race, clocking 41.13 seconds, and was the slowest of all the 64 participants.

Ten-year-old Alzain Tareq, left, from Bahrain enters the hall before competing in a women's 50m butterfly heat at the Swimming World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2015.

The youngster hopes to make the squad for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

“I was a bit nervous walking out there, I have never swum in front of so many spectators,” said Tareq, quoted by BBC Sport.

World championship's youngest athlete Alzain Tareq, a 10-year-old Bahraini schoolgirl, swims in women's 50m butterfly pic.twitter.com/IGlUOo1J3J

— AFP Photo (@AFPphoto) August 7, 2015

“The other swimmers are often surprised, they ask me my name and how old I am and then they are like, ’Are you swimming here?’"

“I feel so happy. I want to learn the techniques and how they swim.”