Van der Burgh sets 50m record

Berlin - Cameron van der Burgh bettered his world short course record in the 50 metre breaststroke as South Africa set the pool alight on the opening day of the two-day Swimming World Cup in Berlin, Germany on Saturday.

Van der Burgh, who also holds the 100m short course world record, took the gold medal and the $10 000 world record incentive, setting a new global best of 25.25 seconds.

His previous world mark had stood at 25.43, set at the SA Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg in August.

In the morning heats of the 200m breaststroke, Neil Versfeld clocked an African and meet record time of 2:02.56, but he had to settle for bronze in 2:04.35 in the evening final.

Roland Schoeman took silver behind van der Burgh in 25.45 in the 50m breaststroke - one of his two trips to the medal podium. He also finished second in the 50m butterfly in 21.87 - just outside the world record set by German Thomas Deibler (21.80).

Durban teenage swim sensation Chad le Clos produced the performance of his life in the 400m individual medley, taking the gold medal in an African record time of 4:02.18 - inside his previous continental mark of 4:04.19 set in Stockholm on Wednesday.

In the 200m butterfly heats, Le Clos posted an African record time of 1:53.16 - eclipsing his continental record of 1:54.13 set in Stockholm. He finished seventh in the evening final in 1:54.00.

In the 100m individual medley final, Gerhard Zandberg placed second in an African record time of 51.05, dipping inside Ryk Neethling's African best of 51.52. Darian Townsend claimed the bronze medal in 51.80.

Lyndon Ferns took bronze in the 100m freestyle in 46.03 while three-time Olympian Mandy Loots finished fifth in the 200m backstroke in a national record time of 2:05.09.