YOKOHAMA (Japan), Aug 26: Ian Thorpe dug deep into his reserves of energy to win gold in the 200 metres freestyle with the fourth fastest time ever at the Pan Pacific swimming championships Monday.

The 19-year-old, who has complained of fatigue since the Commonwealth Games, clocked one minute 44.75 seconds to win his third gold in Yokohama with Australian team mate Grant Hackett taking silver in a personal best time of 1:45.84.

American Nate Dusing placed third in 1:48.11.

“The tank has been on empty the whole meet. I’m on emergency supplies already. I said it would be more of a mental challenge than a physical one due to the hectic schedule,” said Thorpe, who won six gold medals in Manchester.

Although 0.23 seconds inside world record pace after 50 metres, Thorpe never fully extended himself over the second half of the race and settled instead for a new championship best.

“I wanted to go out fast but my own world record splits are pretty tough, so I would have to go out a lot harder over the first 100 if I wanted to break 1:44,” he said.

While Thorpe missed out on his own world record of 1:44.06, he did give Australia a fifth gold of the six-day Pan Pacific championships, although the US finished day three with a lead of 8-6 in the gold medal standings.

Natalie Coughlin, Aaron Peirsol and Jason Lezak all won their finals as the US continued their recovery after a disappointing opening day, when they collected just one gold.

Coughlin, who took gold in the 100 metres butterfly on Sunday, added the 100 backstroke title in a time of 59.72, the second quickest time ever and just 0.14 outside her own world record.

Dyana Calub of Australia took silver in 1:01.49 less than a year after knee surgery, while American Haley Cope was third in 1:01.74, both personal best times.

“My goal was the same as in the 100 fly — to blast off the wall and blast into the finish,” said the world champion. “Last year I was the underdog at the world championship but winning the gold in Fukuoka has really lifted my confidence.”

Meanwhile, US champion Peirsol won gold in the men’s 100 metres backstroke in 54.22 with American team mate Randall Bal taking silver in 54.45 and Tomomi Morita of Japan pocketing the bronze.

Tomoko Hagiwara brought “Thorpe-mania” to a temporary halt as the Japanese champion caught Gabrielle Rose on the final leg of freestyle to win the women’s 200 metres individual medley in 2:13.42 to a deafening roar from the home crowd.

Rose finished runner-up in 2:13.93 with US team mate Maggie Bowen, who was reinstated after successfully appealing her disqualification after the semi-finals on Sunday, took bronze in 2:14.28.

Lezak then edged out world champion Anthony Ervin by 0.06 seconds to win the men’s 50 metres freestyle title in 22.22 as the US celebrated another one-two finish and their third gold medal of the evening.

Results of finals:

MEN’S:

200 metres freestyle: 1. Ian Thorpe (Australia) 1 minute 44.75 seconds; 2. Grant Hackett (Australia) 1:45.84; 3. Nate Dusing (US) 1:48.11; 4. Richard Say (Canada) 1:48.26; 5. Klete Keller (US) 1:48.42; 6. Mark Johnston (Canada) 1:49.48; 7. Daisuke Hosokawa (Japan) 1:49.74; 8. Yoshihiro Okumura (Japan) 1:49.97.

100 metres backstroke: 1. Aaron Peirsol (US) 54.22; 2. Randall Bal (US) 54.45; 3. Tomomi Morita (Japan) 55.29; 4. Atsushi Nishikori (Japan) 55.30; 5. Riley Janes (Canada) 55.63; 6. Leigh McBean (Australia) 55.71; 7. Ethan Rolff (Australia) 56.51; 8. Rui Yu (China) 56.55.

50 metres freestyle: 1. Jason Lezak (US) 22.22; 2. Anthony Ervin (US) 22.28; 3. Brett Hawke (Australia) 22.40; 4. Ashley Callus (Australia) 22.56; 5. Yannick Lupien (Canada) 22.81; 6. Issei Nakanishi (Japan) 23.00; 7. Renato Guimaraes Gueraldi (Brazil) 23.05; 8. Naoki Nagura (Japan) 23.29.

WOMEN’S:

100 metres backstroke: 1. Natalie Coughlin (US) 59.72 seconds; 2. Dyana Calub (Australia) 1:01.49; 3. Haley Cope (US) 1:01.74; 4. Noriko Inada (Japan) 1:01.98; 5. Aya Terakawa (Japan) 1:02.16; 6. Erin Gammel (Canada) 1:02.43; 7. Giaan Rooney (Australia) 1:02.75; 8. Hannah McLean (New Zealand) 1:03.28.

200 metres individual medley: 1. Tomoko Hagiwara (Japan) 2:13.42; 2. Gabrielle Rose (US) 2:13.93; 3. Martha Bowen (US) 2:14.28; 4. Yafei Zhou (China) 2:16.23; 5. Alice Mills (Australia) 2:16.51; 6. Elizabeth Warden (Canada) 2:16.99; 7. Jennifer Reilly (Australia) 2:18.70; 8. Kristy Cameron (Canada) 2:18.72.—Reuters