MADRID, Nov 29 — Mireia Belmonte set a new 1500m world record at the Spanish championships in Castellon today.

Her time of 15min 26.95sec was nearly two seconds faster than the previous best mark, set by Denmark’s Lotte Friis in November 2009.

The 23-year-old Belmonte won silver medals at the London Olympics in the 800m freestyle and 200m butterfly.

She set a world record in the 800m freestyle in the summer when she became the first woman to go under eight minutes. — AFP