Moses in world record spree

American Ed Moses cracked two world records at a World Cup swimming meeting on Tuesday.

Moses, who had broken one of his own world records only five days earlier, lowered the 50 and 200 metres breaststroke world marks in one extraordinary session.

"I am surprised at my speed. This was probably my best day of swimming ever," Moses, the Olympic 100 metres breaststroke silver medallist, said.

Moses clocked 26.28 seconds to beat the 50 breaststroke record of 26.70 set by Mark Warnecke of Germany at the European short-course championships in Sheffield, England, on December 11, 1998.

The American then broke his own 200 breaststroke world short-course mark for the second time in five days, slicing more than three seconds from his original record in the process.

Moses hit the wall in the 200 in two minutes 3.28 seconds. He had lowered the record at a World Cup meeting in Paris last Friday to 2:04.37 from the 2:06.40 he posted in March 2000

"I definitely fatigued during the first race, so I was quite surprised at the result," Moses said.

Moses could complete a Stockholm world record treble in the 100 metres breaststroke on Wednesday. "You're going to see my best race and if it's a world record it's a world record," he said.

Moses now holds the world short-course records for all three breaststroke distances but declined to say which event he liked best. "I try not to pick one from the other. I can't pick one," he said.

EUROPEAN RECORD

Russia's Roman Sludnov, the world 100 metres breaststroke long-course champion, claimed the European short-course record in the 50 event when he finished second to Moses in 26.54.

Jim Piper of Australia also broke a record behind Moses when he set a Commonwealth mark for the 200 metres breaststroke in 2:06.61.

Australia's Geoff Huegill equalled his own 50 metres butterfly world short-course record when he clocked 22.84 to match the time he set at a World Cup meeting in Melbourne on December 8 last year.

Sweden's Lars Frolander, the Olympic and world long-course 100 butterfly champion, and British world short-course 50 butterfly champion Mark Foster shared second place in 23.73.

Martina Moravcova of Slovakia broke the women's 100 metres butterfly European record for the second time in five days with a time of 56.86.

U.S.-based Moravcova, who had taken the record down from 57.16 to 57.09 in Paris last Friday, won from Swedish duo Johanna Sjoberg (58.28) and Anna Karin Kammerling (58.93).

Sweden's Emma Igelstrom also set a European short-course record when she won the women's 100 metres breaststroke in 1:06.21 ahead of American Amanda Beard (1:06.87) and South African Sarah Poewe (1:07.07).

Igelstrom beat the mark of 1:06.87 set by Belgium's Brigitte Becue in Paris on March 28, 1998.

The two-day Stockholm meeting, which ends on Wednesday, is the eighth in the nine-venue World Cup series which concludes in Berlin next weekend.