FINA World Championships, Swimming: Cameron van der Burgh Clocks Textile Best, Rattles World Record in 50 Breast

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SHANGHAI, China, July 26. THE men's 50 breast might wind up being the first post-techsuit era world record to fall as South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh and Brazil's Felipe Silva both cleared 27 seconds in semifinals at the FINA World Long Course Championships.

Van der Burgh, the world record holder with a suited 26.67 from the 2009 World Championships, scorched a 26.90 to lead the way through the sprint breast semifinal round. That effort dropped his previous textile best of 27.18 from August 2010.

"I'm really happy. It's a good time for me," van der Burgh said. "I will have a rest. If the result of the final tomorrow is good, I will be happy. The 50m race is really a fun event for me and I had a lot of fun. I won't put too much pressure tomorrow."

Silva, meanwhile, also cleared 27 seconds with a blazing fast time of 26.95. He challenged his suited Brazilian record of 26.76 from Rome.

Van der Burgh's time from tonight stands 10th all time, while Silva's effort is tied for 11th.

Norway's Alexander Dale Oen, the men's 100 breast victor, qualified third in 27.33. Italy's Fabio Scozzoli (27.37), Slovenia's Damir Dugonjic (27.51), The Netherlands' Lennart Stekelenburg (27.51), Germany's Hendrik Feldwehr (27.53) and USA's Mark Gangloff (27.57) also earned their way into the championship finale.

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