Cameron McEvoy says it is “crazy” he has not received a financial reward for setting a world record in the men’s 50m freestyle at the China Open last week.

The Australian clocked 20.88 seconds in Shenzhen, beating Cesar Cielo’s time of 20.91 which the Brazilian set 17 years ago during swimming’s ‘supersuit’ era.

McEvoy, 31, said the “harder pathway” to his historic victory was in “stark contrast” to the $1m bonus promised to swimmers (£745,000) if they break the 50m freestyle world record at the Enhanced Games.

The inaugural Games, which take place in Las Vegas in May, allow athletes to take banned performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision.

“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,” said McEvoy.

World Aquatics does pay out rewards to record-breaking athletes, but because the China Open was not organised by the governing body, no bonuses were sanctioned.

Athletes receive $30,000 (£22,200) for Aquatics World Championship world records, $25,000 (£18,600) for Swimming World Championship world records and $10,000 (£7,500) for World Cup meet records – all events sanctioned by the governing body.

McEvoy’s time was faster than the unofficial 20.89 that Enhanced Games swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev claimed last year at a trial in the United States – for which he received $1m.

“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.

“And the zero-dollar pathway is the much harder pathway to do something like this.

“So it’s pretty ludicrous… I’m dumbfounded in terms of the stark contrast that exists currently in the landscape of sport and swimming.”

McEvoy said his record fulfilled a childhood dream and was achieved by focusing on strength training rather than spending hours in the pool.

Cielo achieved his time in 2009 during a period when a number of records were set by swimmers wearing high-tech suits, which have since been banned, that were designed to reduce friction through the water.

McEvoy added that he had been denied a commercial sponsorship because of his age and said his time proved swimmers in their 30s could sprint.

His starting block from his race in Shenzhen is set to be preserved in a sports museum in the city.