RIO DE JANEIRO, June 11. INGE De Bruijn, Holland's aquatic blond bombshell, smashed her seventh world record in three weeks today.
Swimming in the Trofeo Jose Finkel, Brazil's Winter Championship meet, De Bruijn blasted her own week-old record in the 50 meter freestyle with a time of 24.39 seconds. Swimming at the Dutch Olympic Trials on June 4, she clocked 24.48, which erased the record of 24.51 set by China's Le Jingyi in 1994 and equalled by De Bruijn at the Speedo Grand Challenge meet in Sheffield, England, in May.
"I'm living a dream," De Bruijn said. "I wasn't looking to break my record at this meet but felt confident that I got off to a good start and the conditions were ripe for a fast time."
"When I touched the wall and looked up at the scoreboard and saw the time (24.39), I just started to scream with joy," she said.
De Bruijn also recorded the second fastest 50 and 100 meter butterfly in history in Rio, clocking 25.71 and 57.65 seconds.
Brazil's Rogerio Romero had the best men's swim, clocking 1:59.93 for the 200 meter backstroke.