Ian Thorpe did it again yesterday, taking his fourth World Swimming Championship gold at Fukuoka, Japan and setting his third world record in four days. The Australian teenager blitzed his 200 metres world mark and beat arch-rival Pieter van den Hoogenband into the bargain.

Thorpe hit the wall in one minute 44.06 seconds, slashing his previous record of 1:44.69 set at the Australian swimming championships in March.

The race wasn't just about gold, it was about revenge for the Olympics where van den Hoogenband toppled the Thorpe The Australian has now won the 200m, 400m, 800m and 4x100m freestyle relay titles in Japan.

He still has two more relays and the 100m freestyle final on Friday, an event in which van den Hoogenband is the world 100m recordholder.

In all, four gold medals were decided on the fourth day of pool competition. Inge de Bruijn, who holds four world marks, won the women's 100m freestyle but outside record pace. while Randall Bal took his first major title in winning the men's 50m backstroke.

A fifth gold was put on hold after an appeal by Australia against its disqualification after winning the women's 4x200m freestyle for a swimmer jumping into the pool in celebration before the race was over. The US were also disqualified for a swimmer jumping too early. They were reinstated, drawing a protest from Britain. The result will not be known until today.