Danes break 4x50m world record, stop clock

Danes break 4x50m world record, stop clock

Herning (Denmark) (AFP) - Denmark broke the women's 4x50m shortcourse freestyle world record at the European championships on Thursday, delighting the 6,000 home fans and causing havoc with the timing system.

Led by 50m world butterfly champion Jeanette Ottesen, the Danes were forced to wait a few minutes before their record time was confirmed after a performance which proved too quick for the electronic displays inside the arena which froze.

"Wow. The times are too fast for the system," said the stadium announcer before the winning time was confirmed as 1min 37.04sec.

"We knew we had a serious medal chance, but we weren't expecting gold. And to win at home, it's even better," said Ottesen.

"It was a strange feeling waiting for the results, but we knew deep down that we were first."