Bousquet sets new 50m freestyle world record

France's Frederick Bousquet set a new world 50m freestyle record on Sunday, setting a time of 20.94sec and becoming the first man to beak the 21-second barrier.

Bousquet, a silver medallist at the Beijing Olympics in the 4x100m relay, smashed the previous record of 21.28sec set by Australia's Eamon Sullivan in March 2008 in Sydney.

The 28-year-old, who held the short course world record over the same distance in 2004, becomes the second French swimmer to set a new world record at the ongoing national championships here.

On Thursday, Alain Bernard, second in the 50m on Sunday in 21.23sec, set a new 100m freestyle record of 46.94sec.

"I had thought about this time all season," said the Marseille native who splits his time between France and his training base in the United States.

"When I touched the wall, I thought about all the work I have done over the years and I was already thinking about Rome (the venue for this year's world championships)."