University of Arizona sophomore Roland Schoeman tied the world record in the 50 meter freestyle during prelims of the Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, being held at the University of Minnesota.
Schoeman, a South African, clocked 21.31 seconds for swimming's quickest event, equaling the world record set by Great Britain's Mark Foster at the European Short Course Championships in Sheffield, England on Dec. 13, 1998.
It took under 22 seconds just to make the finals, making this the fastest 50m final field in history. Second qualifier was Cal's Bart Kizierowski, a Polish Olympian, at 21.43.
Anthony Ervin, a freshman at the University of California, set an American record of 21.50 in qualifying third. The old mark was 21.56 set by Bill Pilczuk last September.
Defending champion Aaron Ciarla, Auburn, was fourth qualifier (21.61), followed by his teammate, Greg Busse (21.62) and Matt Busbee (2.68); Cal's Matt Macedo was seventh (21.76) while Bryan Jones, Texas, was eighth (21.99).
B qualifiers were: Nick Folker, Hawaii; Nathan Summers, Fla.; Coley Stickels, Arizona; Leffie Crawford, Texas; Anthony Robinson, Stanford; Ricardo dornelas, Minn.; Shaun Zitani, Kentucky; and Oswaldo Quevedo, Auburn.
