Swimmer James Magnussen made history last night as he became the first Australian man to win the 100m freestyle at a world championships.

20 year-old Magnussen of Port Macquarie clocked a strong time of 47.63 seconds, leaving Brent Hayden of Canada in second on 47.95 and William Meynard of France, third with a time of 48 seconds.

It was Australia's second gold medal of the meeting, and makes him just the fourth Australian to earn a medal in the event at a world championships after Eamon Sullivan (bronze, 2007), Ian Thorpe (bronze, 2003) and Michael Klim (silver, 1998).