Europeans in record rush for the Olympics

Frenchman Alain Bernard led the charge as Europe threw down its challenge for the Beijing Olympics with six world records in seven days of championship swimming.

The 24-year-old provided the lasting image of the European Championships with swims of awesome power which left Italian world champion Filippo Magnini and rapid Swede Stefan Nystrand trailing in his wake.

Bernard, bulging with muscle, stormed away with three world marks, annihilating Pieter van den Hoogenband's 47.84 seconds 100 freestyle standard in 47.60 and next day lowering the record to 47.50 before dispossessing Australia's Eamon Sullivan of the 50 freestyle world record in 21.50.

Marleen Veldhuis started the world record rush with her Dutch team-mates, slicing a substantial 1.6 seconds from Germany's women 4x100 freestyle relay mark, and trimmed 0.04 seconds from Inge de Bruijn's 50 freestyle record with a time of 24.09.

Italy's Federica Pellegrini, disqualified for a false start in the 200 freestyle heats, provided the sixth and least awaited world mark, turning on the pace in the second half of the 400 freestyle to win in 4:01.53 and grab the record from Olympic champion Laure Manaudou.

The Frenchwoman, wanting to catch up on Olympic training after a disrupted year, had left early with gold medals from the 200 backstroke and 4x200 freestyle relay and a silver from her 100 backstroke title defence in which, to her evident displeasure, she was beaten and deprived of her European record by 17-year-old Russian Anastasia Zueva.

Zueva was one of several promising new champions to emerge from Eindhoven along with 15-year-old Russian Yulia Efimova (200 breaststroke), 14-year-old Swede Sarah Sjoestroem (100 butterfly) and 19-year-old Slovenian Sara Isakovic, who upstaged Olympic champion Camelia Potec in the 200 freestyle.

Hungary's Laszlo Cseh, faced with Olympic swimming's toughest task of taking on Michael Phelps, retained his 200 and 400 individual medley crowns, breaking his own European record in the 400 in 4:09.59 but still remaining more than three seconds adrift of the American master.

Yuri Prilukov won the 1,500 freestyle for the fourth time and completed his second 400/1,500 double as Russia topped the medal table with 12 titles.

Serbia's Milorad Cavic twice lowered the European 50 butterfly record but was denied his ambition of approaching the sub-50-second times of Ian Crocker and Phelps in the 100 butterfly when he was banned for wearing a t-shirt with a political slogan at his victory ceremony for the 50.

The championships did not provide a complete picture of what to expect from Europe at August's Olympics.

Germany, the most successful nation in the 82-year history of these championships, brought a team of only nine swimmers, reduced by illness, injury and absentees pre-occupied with Olympic selection at next month's national championships.

That deprived Eindhoven of Britta Steffen, who demolished the 100 freestyle world record last time, and Annika Lurz (nee Liebs), who joined Steffen in world record breaking 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relays at the last European Championships in 2006.