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SYDNEY: Australian Eamon Sullivan broke the world record in the
men’s 50m freestyle at the New South Wales swimming championships
here on Sunday.
Sullivan clocked 21.56 seconds to eclipse
Russian Alexander Popov’s 2000 mark of 21.64 sec by 0.08 seconds.
Sullivan, who claimed bronze in the 100m
freestyle at last year’s world championships, shaved almost half a
second off his personal best time in establishing the record.
“I just surprised myself,” he said. “I
felt really, really good in the warm-up and working towards getting
under 22 for the first time.”
“I really don’t know [how that happened].”
“We have made some big gains in the gym and I
knew if I put bits of my best race together we would be in for a
shot at the 22. To take that much off my PB is amazing.”
Having made the team for the 2004 Athens
Olympics, the 22-year-old struggled to shake off a series of
injuries before his breakthrough meet at the national championships
14 months ago.
He captured the 50m national record at that meet
in Brisbane before reinforcing his growing status as a quality
sprinter by collecting bronze at last year’s world championships
in Melbourne in the 100m and fifth in the 50m.
-- AFP
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