PARIS: China's Pan Zhanle smashed the world record as he stormed to victory in the men's 100m freestyle at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
Pan powered to the finish in 46.40sec, beating the world record time of 46.80 he had set in February in Doha.
Australia's Kyle Chalmers, gold medal winner at the 2016 Rio Games, finished 1.08 seconds behind to take silver with Romanian David Popovici claiming bronze.
Pan's victory was a much-needed boost for China who have disappointed in the Paris pool so far.
It was a bitter result for Chalmers who had to settle for silver in Tokyo and had hoped to regain his crown eight years after his triumph in Brazil.
Pan is the first Chinese swimmer to hold the world record in this event and now the first to win gold in what is the sport's blue riband event.
The bronze was the second medal in Paris for the 19-year-old Popovici who won gold in the 200m freestyle. --AFP