Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder James Roberts has qualified for the world swimming championships to be held in Shanghai in July.

The 20-year-old finished second behind James Magnussen in the 100m freestyle final with Eamon O’Sullivan third in one of the strongest sprint fields ever to assemble at a national championship.

Magnussen clocked 48.29 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year, bettering the previous mark of Frenchman Fabien Gilot, while Roberts recorded 48.72.

Ironically, both Magnussen and Roberts are born on the same day (April 11, 1991) with both hailing from New South Wales.

"I was so pumped for that race," Magnussen said.

"I didn't come out and say it publicly, but for the past year I've been thinking about this race. I always thought I had a good chance of winning it and that's been my aim since the Commonwealth Games."

"I'm not too concerned about that time. I was aiming at a 48.2, so I was pretty much on the money."

"James and I have been two good mates coming through the ranks and been on a few junior teams together, so it'll be a great experience racing together at world champs."