Swimming: Manaudou wins men's 50m freestyle world gold

Manaudou celebrates after winning the men's 50m freestyle final. REUTERS

KAZAN, Russia (AFP) - France's Olympic champion Florent Manaudou added the world crown to his London 2012 triumph when he won the men's 50m freestyle gold at the world swimming championships on Saturday.

Manaudou clocked 21.19 seconds with Nathan Adrian of the United States, the Olympic 100m champion, taking silver at 0.33secs as Brazil's Bruno Fratus earned bronze at 0.36.

This is the French sprinter's third gold in the Kazan pool having already secured the 50m butterfly title and helped France win the 4x100m freestyle relay last Sunday.

Manaudou, the younger brother of former Olympic champion Laure Manaudou, who won gold, silver and bronze at the 2004 Athens games, said he had improved from the semi-finals.

"My start was better today than it was yesterday. That made the difference. I am very happy," beamed the 24-year-old.

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