'It's pretty surreal': World record sent tumbling by Paralympic rising star Angus Hincksman

Rising middle-distance running star Angus Hincksman sent a world record tumbling as the Australian athletics championships kicked off on Thursday.

At Sydney Olympic Park on Friday, the Paralympian will go toe-to-toe in the senior men's para 1500-metre final against the runner whose world record was knocked off.

Hincksman, 20, lined up in the heats of the able-bodied 1500 metres and broke the T38 world record held by Paralympic teammate Reece Langdon.

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The Adelaide runner clocked 3:46.71 to finish ninth in his heat and slice 0.12 of a second off Langdon's mark, set in Perth at last year's national championships.

"It's pretty surreal," Hincksman said.

"It's the gold-class event for our classification in the distance world and it's been a record I've been aiming at for years now.

"You have the checklist of career goals you want to achieve. At the top is the gold medal at the world championships and Paralympic Games, and a world record feels like a step in the right direction which I can now check off."

Langdon, 30, won bronze in the T38 1500m at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Hincksman finished fourth in that race, missing the medals by only 1.01 seconds as he steamed down the home straight of the purple Stade de France track.

Hincksman has cerebral palsy and Langdon cerebellitis.

"Reece and I definitely have a rivalry on the track," Hincksman said.

"There's never much talking pre-race. Off the track, he's a great guy, and I've known him since I was 16. We have spent a lot of time together on training camps and on teams, and I love racing him."

Hincksman and Langdon will square off for the para 1500m title under lights at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre at 8.07pm on Friday.