Germany's double Olympic champion Britta Steffen broke the world record of the women's 100 meters freestyle in Berlin on Saturday.

The 25-year-old, who won Olympic gold in the 50 and 100 meters freestyle in Beijing, clocked 52.56 seconds at the German national championships.

The previous record of 52.85 seconds was set by herself on Thursday.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2009)