Swimming-Australian Chalmers breaks 100m freestyle short-course world record

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Swimming - Men
Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Swimming - Men's 100m Freestyle - Heats - Tokyo Aquatics Centre - Tokyo, Japan - July 27, 2021. Kyle Chalmers of Australia before the event REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

(Reuters) - Australia's Kyle Chalmers set a short-course world record in the men's 100m freestyle as he clinched gold at the World Cup in Kazan, Russia on Friday.

Fresh from victory in the 50m freestyle on Thursday, the 23-year-old came home in 44.84 seconds, bettering the mark of 44.94 seconds set by France's Amaury Leveaux in 2008.

Russian Valdimir Morozov finished almost a 1-1/2 seconds back in second place ahead of compatriot Kliment Kolesnikov in third.

Chalmers won gold in the 100m freestyle at the Rio Olympics in 2016 but only managed silver at the Tokyo Games this year, finishing behind American Caeleb Dressel.

(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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