Popov leaves the stars behind in 100m freestyle

The 31-year-old, the second-fastest qualifier in 48.51, led all the way down the first length and turned just in front of van den Hoogenband in under world record time. He then held his lead down the second length to claim his third world 100 metres title, just edging out van den Hoogenband and a fast-finishing Thorpe.

Earlier, Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima completed an impressive breaststroke double with victory in the men’s 200 metres final in world record time. The 20-year-old student, the winner of the 100 title in a world record 59.78 seconds on Monday, touched in two minutes 09.42 seconds to break the 2:09.52 swum by Russia’s Dmitry Komornikov in June. Britain’s Ian Edmond finished second in 2:10.92, while defending 200 world champion Brendan Hansen of the United States was third in 2:11.11. (Reuters)