SYDNEY, March 28: Eamon Sullivan broke the 50 metres freestyle world record for the second time in 24 hours at the Australian Olympic trials on Friday, enhancing his claims as the early favourite to win the gold medal in Beijing.

The 22-year-old from Western Australia stormed down Sydney’s Olympic pool in 21.28 seconds to win the final and slash 0.13 off the previous record he set in Thursday’s semi-finals.

Sullivan broke Alex Popov’s long-standing world record last month but lost it to Alain Bernard of France at the European championships last weekend.

However, after posting the second and third fastest times for the 100, he regained his title as the fastest man in the water by twice breaking the 50 record.

Sullivan’s record was the seventh in as many days at the Australian trials.

His girlfriend Stephanie Rice broke the 200 and 400 individual medley records, Libby Trickett (nee Lenton) regained the 100 freestyle mark and Sophie Edington and Emily Seebohm took turns in breaking the 50 backstroke record.

Trickett will be chasing a second world record on Saturday after qualifying second fastest for the women’s 50 freestyle final behind 15-year-old Cate Campbell.

Campbell, runner-up to Trickett in the 100, stopped the clock at 24.30, just 0.21 outside Marleen Veldhuis’s world record of 24.09, to lay down the challenge to Trickett.

Trickett is the world champion for 50 but Campbell has been rapidly closing in on her over the past 12 months to emerge as a medal contender for the Olympics.

Andrew Lauterstein won the men’s 100 butterfly in 51.91 to book his place in the squad for Beijing while Kylie Palmer won the women’s 800 freestyle in 8:24.30.

Meagen Nay, 19, took out the women’s 200 backstroke in 2:08.55 to emulate her late father Robbie by making the Olympic team.

Robbie swam for Australia in the relay at the 1972 Munich Olympics but was killed in a car accident when his daughter was just a toddler.—Reuters