BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AFP) - Beijing Olympics champion Cesar Cielo on Saturday set the fastest time of the year in clocking 21.74sec for the 50m freestyle in home water at Belo Horizonte.

Cielo, Brazil's most successful swimmer and 2008 Olympic champion over the distance, shaved 0.14sec off Australian James Magnussen's January time in Perth.

Saturday's time was still, however, well shy of Cielo's own long-course world mark of 20.91sec.

That record, set in Brazil in December 2009, came just before the International Swimming Federation ban on non-textile superfast suits came into effect.