Flying Dutchman sets world best

Pieter van den Hoogenband smashed the world record

Swimming sensation Pieter van den Hoogenband smashed the world record for the 100m freestlye as he stormed into the final.

The flying Dutchman clocked 47.84 seconds in his heat, becoming the first man to break the 48-second barrier.

The 22-year-old, who equalled his own world record when beating Australian wonderboy Ian Thorpe in the 200m freestyle final, now has his sights set on Alex Popov.

The Russian is bidding to become the first swimmer to win the coveted 100m crown for the third Olympics in succession

But Popov could only finish second in his semi-final to previous world record holder Michael Klim of Australia.

Klim, who set the previous record of 48.18 seconds during Saturday's 4x100 metres freestyle relay final, clocked 48.80 in his heat.

Van den Hoogenband will now be favourite for Wednesday's final - but he revealed the exertions of the past few days may be starting to catch up with him.

"I'm vey tired," he said after his record feat. "I only had six hours sleep last night. I hope I can swim faster in the final."