The United States shattered the world record in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay with a time of three minutes 12.23 seconds in the heats at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday.

The American quartet of Nathan Adrian, Cullen Jones, Ben Wildman-Tobriner and Matt Grevers bettered the previous mark of 3:12.46 held by the United States at the Pan Pacific championships in Victoria, Canada, in August 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2008)