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ROME, Italy, July 31. ROLAND Schoeman's meet record featured a pair of progressions in the men's 50 free prelims as Brazil's Cesar Cielo completed this morning with the top seed at the FINA World Championships.
Trinidad and Tobago's George Bovell shot down Schoeman's 21.69 from 2005 with a 21.64 in heat 21 of 23. He finished with the fourth seed overall. Cielo followed in heat 22 with the top qualifying time of 21.37 – not far off his top time of 21.14. Cielo's 21.37 is the seventh-fastest of all time.
Sweden's Stefan Nystrand clocked a second-seeded 21.56 to lower his national mark of 21.71 set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while world record holder Fred Bousquet of France touched third in 21.63. Bousquet owns with global mark with a 20.94 to his credit from April.
Nathan Adrian of the U.S. qualified fifth in 21.68, while France's Amaury Leveaux (21.70), Hungary's Krisztian Takacs (21.71) and Croatia's Duje Draganja (21.72) completed the top eight. Takacs lowered his national record of 21.84 set last summer, while Draganja beat his national mark of 21.79 set earlier this month.
Schoeman (21.82), Cullen Jones of the U.S. (21.88), Australia's Matthew Abood (21.90), Poland's Konrad Czerniak (21.93), Brazil's Nicholas Santos (21.95), Kenya's David Dunford (21.96), Canada's Brent Hayden (22.03) and South Africa's Graeme Moore (22.04) also made the semifinal rounds.