Dutchman Van den Hoogenband had pulled out of the morning's heats due to illness, but it was a shock for all at the Olympic champion's home pool when the 24-year-old Frenchman touched home at the end of his semifinal at the European Championships.

He had carved nearly a quarter of a second from the 47.84 seconds world mark the Dutchman set in the semifinals of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

"This is a surprise for me. I wanted to do my best today and then go really fast tomorrow (in the final)," Bernard told local television. "It is extra special to do this in the Netherlands."

Bernard hit the wall in 47.60, improving his previous best by a vast 0.52 seconds and installing himself as overwhelming favourite to win the final. He has also made himself a marked man for the Olympics.

Bernard is the first Frenchman to hold the world record for swimming's blue riband event in more than 40 years, following Alex Jany, who swam 55.8 in 1947 and Alain Gottvalles, whose 52.9 stood from 1964 to 1967.

He won the European short-course 100 freestyle in Debrecen, Hungary, last December but the Olympic-size 50-metre long-course pool is the one that really counts.

Rice’s new mark

Stephanie Rice smashed the world record in the 400M individual medley on the opening night of the Australian Olympic swimming trials on Saturday, setting a new mark of four minutes 31.46 seconds, adds AFP
Rice shaved 1.43 seconds off American Katie Hoff’s previous record of 4:32.89.

Brisbane schoolgirl Emily Seebohm claimed the best time in the non-Olympic 50M backstroke.

The 15-year-old touched the wall in 27.95 seconds in the semifinals of the event to shave 0.05 of a second off American Hayley McGregory’s mark.