SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: MEN'S FREESTYLE swimming reached new heights on day five of the world championships in Rome as Brazilian Caesar Cielo Filho shocked the favourite Alain Bernard of France to take not only the gold medal, but also pushed the men's 100 metres world record into a new stratosphere.

Bernard initially broke the world record in the French championships last April, becoming the first man to break 47 seconds for the event.

However, Fina, the world governing body, decided not to ratify Bernard’s time as he was wearing a full body suit.

Fina then decided to let the suits be worn in Rome but wouldn’t let the Frenchman’s record stand and after going through to last night’s final as the fastest qualifier, it was felt that Bernard would again go under the 47 second mark.

However, Bernard was outgunned by Cielo Filho who won the gold in 46.91 seconds with the favourite having to be content with silver in 47.12 seconds, with another Frenchman Fredrick Bosquet taking bronze.

The Brazilian wept on the victory rostrum, perhaps tears for his sport as the staggering list of world records set in Rome has now reached 29, a total that is becoming more laughable by the day as the meet descends into farce.

Outside of the men’s 100 freestyle best for Cielo Filho, Ryan Lochte took Michael Phelps record in winning gold in the men’s 200 metres individual medley in two minutes 54.10 seconds.

Annamay Pierse of Canada broke the women’s 200 breastroke time in the semi-finals clocking two minutes 20.12 seconds while Australian Jessica Schipper won gold in the women’s 200 butterfly in another world best of two minutes 3.41 seconds.

The records continued as Australian Christian Sprenger lowered the men’s 200 breastroke time to two minutes 7.31 seconds in the semi-final, Chinas Zhao Jing won gold in the women’s 50 backstroke in 27.06 seconds and the Chinese women’s 4x200 freestyle relay team cut over two seconds off the old time.

Ireland’s big hope was Olympian Andrew Bree who just missed out on a place in the Beijing Olympic final in the men’s 200 metres breastroke and hopes were high that he could make the final in Rome especially as the event was missing the Japanese Olympic Champion Kosuke Katajima and US former world record-holder Brendan Hanson.

Bree had expressed some concern about his earlier races, the 50 and 100 breaststrokes, and that concern manifested itself in the heat as he finished third in a time of two minutes 12.19 seconds, only good enough for 30th overall and nearly three seconds outside his own Irish record and way short of the semi-finals.

To compound matters for the Tennessee-based Irishman, his body suit ripped prior to his race and he struggled to get a replacement on in time.

“I decided to put on an Arena body suit but when I was putting it on, I put a hole in it so I had to get another one, my second option,” said a disappointed Bree afterwards.

“I’m not blaming the suit but overall the race just wasn’t smooth and that was a disappointing swim.

“I was in one of the slower heats but I didn’t think that was going to be a problem as with breastroke you don’t really see anyone anyway.

“I’m going to have to put that one behind me, it was pretty ugly,” added Bree.

“I turned at the 100 and it just wasn’t me. I wasn’t smooth or long and I wasn’t gripping the water. The pity was that I felt really good before the heats.”

Clare Dawson set a Irish 100 metres freestyle record in 56.32 seconds, while the Irish quartet of Dawson, Melanie Nocher, Niamh O’Sullivan and Niamh Murphy wiped over nine seconds of the Irish 4 x200 freestyle relay which placed them a creditable 15th overall.

Irish swimmers in action today are: Barry Murphy and Conor Leaney (50m freestyle), Conor Leaney (100m butterfly), Nocher (200m backstroke) together with Grainne and Nuala Murphy (800m freestyle).