French swimmer Alain Bernard destroyed the world record of men's 100-meter freestyle in a semifinal race?on Wednesday.

Bernard swam unde world-record pace in the first lap and charged strongly in the second 50 meters to clock 47.20 seconds, slicing 0.04 second off the record set by Australian rival Eamon Sullivan in a Monday relay race.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)