MELBOURNE, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Kyle Chalmers on Thursday set a championship record to win a blockbuster men's 100m freestyle, while Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong, China took silver in the women's 100m freestyle at the 16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m).

The six-day short-course event at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Center runs until December 18.

The 25-year-old Haughey was overtaken just before the wall by Australia's Emma McKeon, who broke a championship record with 50.77 seconds. McKeon won gold by 0.1 of a second while Netherlands' Marrit Steenbergen claimed bronze.

"It was a tight finish. To get my hand on the wall first is all you want really," McKeon said.

In perhaps the most eagerly awaited race of the event, Australia's Chalmers won gold in the men's 100m freestyle with a championship record time of 45.16 seconds.

A superb final 25m powered Chalmers past France's Maxime Grousset and Alessandro Miressi from Italy, who claimed silver and bronze respectively.

There was much hype in the build-up with attention focused on a showdown between Chalmers and Romanian teenage sensation David Popovici.

But 18-year-old Popovici could not recover from a slow start to finish fourth and miss the podium but his time of 45.64 seconds broke his own world junior record.

There was heartbreak for China's Tang Qianting who missed out on the podium by 0.01 of a second in the women's 100m breaststroke. The 18-year-old's stirring late challenge fell short as Anna Elendt from Germany won bronze with a time of 1:04.05.

Lilly King won another gold for the United States with Tes Schouten from the Netherlands claiming silver. Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte led for the majority of the race before being overhauled by King to finish second but she was later disqualified.

China had another near miss with Qin Haiyang finishing fourth in the men's 100m breaststroke. He finished 0.08 of a second behind Britain's Adam Peaty, who hit the wall at 56.25 seconds.

Nic Fink from the United States won gold, while Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi claimed silver.

China finished fifth in the women's 4x50m freestyle relay, which was won by the United States in a championship record time of 1:33.89.

Chalmers' spectacular night was capped by powering Australia past Italy to win the men's 4x50m freestyle relay to spark jubilation from the home fans.

Dakota Luther won gold for the United States in the women's 200m butterfly, while veteran South African Chad le Clos claimed the gold medal in the men's 200m butterfly.

The dominant night for the U.S. continued when Kieran Smith triumphed in the men's 400m freestyle. Enditem

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