Alexander Popov, who missed out on a third gold in the 100-metres freestyle, turned the tables on his conqueror Pieter van den Hoogenband in their heat of the 50 metres this morning ahead of tomorrow's final. The 50 metres sprint his last chance at an historic treble after being the Olympic gold medallist in 1992 and 1996.

Meanwhile, Ian Thorpe is suffering from an upper respiratory tract infection and has been competing below his true ability, Australian team doctors said this morning.