Sporting Digest: Swimming

FRANCK SCHOTT, of France, eclipsed Alexander Popov's 50m backstroke world record of two weeks yesterday at the final World Cup short-course meeting in Paris with a time of 24.60sec, the second of the weekend after Schott's compatriot, Franck Esposito, shaved more than a second off the men's 200m butterfly world record in 1min 53.05sec on Saturday.

WORLD CUP SHORT-COURSE MEETING (Paris): Selected: Men: 50m backstroke: 1 F Schott (Fr) 24.60sec (world short-course record). 50m butterfly: 1 M Foster (GB) 23.93. 50m freestyle: 1 A Popov (Rus) 21.61; 2 Foster 21.97. 200m breaststroke: 1 N Gillingham (GB) 2min 10.41sec. 200m butterfly: 1 F Esposito (Fr) 1:53.05 (world record). Women: 50m breaststroke: 1 K Rake (GB) 31.99. 100m breaststroke: 1 B Becue (Bel) 1:08.87; 2 Rake 1:09.31. 400m freestyle: 1 S Hardcastle (GB) 4:07.61. 800m freestyle: 1 Hardcastle 8:27.66. 400m individual medley (final classification based on heat times): 1 M Smith (Irl) 4:36.84.