Coming from second at the halfway turn, Ning beat Australian favorite Cameron McEvoy to win his first ever World Championship medal in 47.84.

McEvoy finished second in a time of 47.95, while Argentina's Federico Grabich emerged as a serious sprint freestyle threat, winning the bronze and his nation's first ever World Championship medal in 48.12.

After leading at the 50 meter mark, Canada's Santo Condorelli faded to fourth in 48.19, while Brazil's Marcelo Chierighini finished fifth in 48.28, beating out hometown favorite Alexander Sukhorukov by a hundredth of a second.

Plagued by a shoulder injury, defending Olympic Champion Nathan Adrian (48.31) tied for seventh with Belgium's Pieter Timmers.

[2] After sustaining a shoulder injury, Australia's James Magnussen was forced to withdraw from the event, leaving him unable to defend his world title.