"It was a decent swim," said Zirk, who is the Estonian record holder for the 400m freestyle short course event, after the race. "I knew I had to hit the gas in the morning because, looking at the line up, it was clear that it was going to be a very fast swim."

Fastest in the heats was Lithuania's Danas Rapsys, who finished in 3 minutes 41.51 seconds. However, there was no room in the final for reigning world champion Felix Auboeck of Austria, nor for Switzerland's Antonio Djakovic or Marco De Tullio of Italy, who finished third and fourth respectively at last year's FINA World Championships in Abu Dhabi.

"Tactically it may not have been the best prelim, but the season is still young and I'm  looking for that competitive feeling," said Zirk. "This evening (in the final – ed.) I will try to improve a few details and I believe I am capable of a faster time than in the morning," he said.

The final of the men's 400 m freestyle at the FINA World Cup in Berlin is scheduled for this evening at 8.13 p.m. Estonian time.

Zirk is also due to compete in his strongest event, the 200 m butterfly, on Saturday at approximately 10.56 a.m. Estonian time.

On Sunday, Zirk takes part in the preliminary heats of the 200m freestyle, from a little after 10.40 a.m. Estonian time.

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