Schoeman first to swim 50m under 21 secs

Roland Schoeman of South Africa broke the short course world record for 50 metres freestyle yesterday and became the first man to swim the distance under 21 seconds with a time of 20.98 seconds. Schoeman, who won a relay gold medal with South Africa at...

Roland Schoeman of South Africa broke the short course world record for 50 metres freestyle yesterday and became the first man to swim the distance under 21 seconds with a time of 20.98 seconds. Schoeman, who won a relay gold medal with South Africa at the 2004 Olympics, lowered the previous mark by 0.12 seconds held for the last two years by Frederic Bousquet of France.

Schoeman was swimming in a specially built 25-metre pool at an invitational meeting in a Hamburg tennis stadium.

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