He jumped to an immediate lead, and never looked back, charging ahead of the field with his trademark high stroke rate to win gold in 57.37 - the fifth-fastest time in the history.

The Netherlands' Arno Kamminga, the only other man in history to break the 58 seconds barrier, could not replicate his Dutch record from the heats and claimed silver in 58.00.

The U.S.' Michael Andrew was 7 tenths of a second shy of his American record set at the 2020 United States Olympic swimming trials, falling to fourth place in 58.84.

Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) can automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event.

Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time is eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events is reached.