BUDAPEST, Dec. 15 

Laszlo Cseh of Hungary set a new world record of three 3: 59.33 in the 400-meter individual medley at the European short course swimming championships in Debrecen on Friday.

He was the first swimmer to cover the distance under four minutes. The previous world record was set by himself in Trieste ( Italy, on Dec. 9, 2005 ) 4:00.37.

Cseh set a world in the 200 individual medley in 1:52.99 on Thursday. He brokes the record of 1:53.14 set by Thiago Pereira of Brazil on Nov.18 at the World Cup in Berlin.

The Netherlands also set a world record in the women’s 200 freestyle relay. The team of Inge Dekker, Hinkelien Schreuder, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Marleen Veldhuis finished in 1:34.82.

 The Dutch team held the previous record of 1:36.27, set by Schreuder Dekker, Veldhuis and Chantal Groot in Trieste, Italy, on Dec. 9, 2005.

On Friday, Yulia Yefimova of Russia set a new European record of 2: 19.08 in the 200 breaststroke event. Laure Manaudou of France set a new European record of 57.34 seconds in the 100 women’s backstroke event.