Jones storms into 50m free semis, Phelps gears up for double

OMAHA (AFP) — Cullen Jones clocked a sizzling 21.59 Friday to top the qualifying times in the men's 50m freestyle at the US Olympic swimming trials.

Jones posted the seventh-fastest time in history, and broke the eight-year-old American record of 21.76, set by Gary Hall at the US trials in Indianapolis in 2000.

"I'll take an American record," said Jones, who had already booked a spot as a relay swimmer on the team for Beijing with a third-place finish in the 100m free on Thursday night.

He said he was looking forward to improving in the semi-finals.

"I'm really excited for tonight," he said. "Don't get me wrong, I definitely put my head down going into the wall. But I think there's a lot more in the tank for tonight."

Jones said he enjoyed the unique demands of ...