Foster sends record up in smoke

Swimming

Swimming

Foster sends record up in smoke

Mark Foster, the former world short-course champion, put his problems behind him yesterday to produce his fastest 50 metres butterfly at the British Grand Prix in Cardiff. The swimmer was this week handed a three- month ban by French officials after testing positive for cannabis in July. The 25-year-old Commonwealth 50m freestyle champion covered distance in 24.59sec to lower his own British and Commonwealth record by 0.08sec, a feat which earned him pounds 500 on offer from the meeting's organisers. Alex Bennett won her third event, adding the 800 metres freestyle to the 200m freestyle and butterfly she won on Friday night. The 18-year-old stepped up a gear to move ahead of Denmark's Eva Mortensen at the 600m mark and win by nearly eight seconds in nine minutes 02.17 seconds. Denis Pankrotov of Russia yesterday set a world short-course record of 1m 52.34 sec for the men's 200 metres butterfly in Paris.