Liu Zige smashed the women's 200 metres butterfly world record yesterday to provide Olympic hosts China with their first swimming gold medal in Beijing.

Liu stormed home in front of a packed crowd at the Water Cube to win the gold ahead of compatriot Jiao Liuyang and cap a golden day for Asian swimming.

Japan's Kosuke Kitajima won the men's 200 breaststroke gold to join an elite group of swimmers to have completed an Olympic double-double.

Alain Bernard, of France, won the men's 100 freestyle final, after outfoxing world record holder Eamon Sullivan while Stephanie Rice won her third gold when she helped Australia win the women's 4x200 freestyle relay in world record time.

Michael Phelps made a brief appearance in the pool, winning a semi-final of the 200 individual medley, then stepped out of the spotlight before he resumes his quest for an unprecedented eight Olympic titles.

After trailing Australia's world record holder Jessicah Schipper through the first 100, Liu surged to the front before the final lap to win in two minutes, 04.18 seconds, slashing 0.68 off the previous record.

"I just took it easy," she told Chinese state television.

"After the semi-finals, my coach just asked me to strive for a better result in the final rather than setting a goal for me to win the gold medal."

Kitajima led all the way to win the gold in 2:07.64, just 0.13 outside his own world record, to add the 200 title to his victory in the 100 on Monday. Australia's Brenton Rickard finished second while Frenchman Hugues Duboscq was third.

Kitajima also won the 100-200 breaststroke double in Athens and joins Roland Matthes, Tamas Darnyi, Alexander Popov and Yana Klochkova as the only swimmers to have won the same two events at successive Olympics.

"I was not even thinking about that," said Kitajima, who is unchallenged as Asia's greatest swimmer.

Bernard won the men's blue-riband sprint in 47.21 seconds to make up for France's agonizing loss to the US in the 4x100 freestyle relay.

"I know I was feeling down after the relay but I didn't want to get beaten," he said.

Sullivan, who broke Bernard's world record twice in the past four days, finished second in 47.32 while American Jason Lezak and Brazil's Cesar Cielo Filho dead-heated for the bronze medal in 47.67.

"Full credit to Alain, he swam a great race and really worked on my weaknesses. I was maybe caught into swimming other people's races," said Sullivan.

Australia, after winning golds on each of the competition days so far, were in danger of failing to win one for the fifth successive day after Sullivan and Schipper lost but recovered with a shock win in the women's relay.

Rice, who had already won the 200 and 400 metres IMs in world record time, joined Bronte Barratt, Kylie Palmer and Linda Mackenzie to win the gold in 7:44.31 and carve almost six seconds off the world record.

"This is probably one of the bigger rollercoaster rides I've had in my career," Australia's head coach Alan Thompson said.

"These are the days you earn your money, you can be up, down, on the edge of your seat, ecstatic."

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