SHENZHEN — Cameron McEvoy set a world record in the men's 50m freestyle at the China Open last week, clocking 20.88 seconds in Shenzhen. The time beat the previous world record of 20.91 seconds set by Cesar Cielo 17 years ago during the supersuit era.

The 31-year-old Australian swimmer said his record fulfilled a childhood dream and was achieved by focusing on strength training rather than spending hours in the pool. McEvoy's starting block from his race in Shenzhen will be preserved in a sports museum in the city.

"It's crazy to think that to get a world record without a suit and without any performance-enhancing drugs, as a clean athlete, the bonus is zero dollars," McEvoy said. The China Open was not organised by World Aquatics, so no bonuses were sanctioned for that event.

World Aquatics pays out rewards to record-breaking athletes at events it sanctions. Athletes receive $30,000 for Aquatics World Championship world records, $25,000 for Swimming World Championship world records, and $10,000 for World Cup meet records at events sanctioned by World Aquatics.

McEvoy contrasted the lack of bonus with the incentives offered by the Enhanced Games, which will take place in Las Vegas in May. The Enhanced Games allow athletes to take banned performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision and promise a $1 million bonus to swimmers who break the 50m freestyle world record.

"You get not only a $1m bonus [at the Enhanced Games], but there's also a $250,000 prize money for first place, which you'd get on top of the world record," McEvoy said. "And the zero-dollar pathway is the much harder pathway to do something like this."

McEvoy's time of 20.88 seconds was faster than the unofficial time of 20.89 seconds claimed by Kristian Gkolomeev at a trial in the United States last year. Gkolomeev received $1 million for his unofficial 20.89-second time at the trial.

High-tech swimsuits designed to reduce friction through the water were worn by swimmers during the supersuit era and have since been banned. "I'm dumbfounded in terms of the stark contrast that exists currently in the landscape of sport and swimming," McEvoy said.

McEvoy was denied a commercial sponsorship because of his age.