EAST MEADOW, NY – South Africa’s Penny Heyns set the first-ever world record in the 50m breaststroke with a time of 30.95 in the first half of her 100m breaststroke race against China on Saturday. Heyns bettered the previous “world best” of 31.58, established by East Germany’s Silke Horner in 1988. Because the 50m breaststroke is not an official event at the Goodwill Games, she will not receive the $50,000 bonus incentive for a world record. However, Goodwill Games’ organizers announced that Heyns will receive a bonus $10,000 in recognition of her outstanding performance.
In January 1998, the FINA Technical Swimming Congress approved the recognition of world records in the 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, and 50m butterfly events for both men and women. The aforementioned events had previously been recognized as “world best times.”
From www.usswim.org