The 19-year-old finished in 48.84 seconds ahead of fellow Australian Ashley Callus and American Nate Dusing third.

Thorpe remains undefeated at the Yokohama meet following his earlier successes in the 200 and 400m freestyle and the 4x100 and 4x200m freestyle relays.

"It's a pretty quick time and it's near my personal best time," Thorpe said.

"Part of my preparation for this meet was for the sprints and I was focusing on the 100m race."

Thorpe's best time in the 100m is 48.73. That time helped him win gold at this year's Commonwealth Games.

Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband's holds the world record mark of 47.84.

Thorpe admitted he is likely to cut down his participation in the longer-distance events in order to concentrate on the sprint events.

Extraordinary run

"There are two reasons behind my interest in the 100m freestyle," Thorpe said.

"I don't think that I have ever reached my potential or been able to put in a performance in competition that really shows what I have done in training and how well I can sprint.

"I'm also looking to the future and my intentions are to look to those shorter events rather than the longer ones.

"To establish a fast time in that race is important to me."

Wednesday's win continues an extraordinary run of success for Thorpe.

He won a record six golds at the Commonwealth Games and the same number at last year's world championships.