Kitajima, 24, raced to the title in one minute 1.13 seconds, but a far cry from his own Asian record of 59.53 set in last year' s world championships.

Vladislav Polyakov of Kazakhstan, who beat Kitajima to second place in the 50m breaststroke on Sunday, was pushed to the third in 1:01.63 after another Japanese Makoto Yamashita, in 1:01.50.

"Tonight I am happy. I tried to avoid the faults I made yesterday. I paid attention to the details, for example, diving into the water without slipping," he said.

Athens fifth-place finisher Polyakov upset Kitajima, 100m and 200m Athens Olympic champion, in Sunday's 50m race. Kitajima thought slipping at the start failed him.

"Tonight I was a little nervous at the start. I didn't know whether I had won or come second until I looked at the final results. I wanted to get gold," he said.

The 23-year-old Polyakov said he did not fully deliver his swim.

"Unfortunately I could not give my best. However, I didn't expect to get gold. I will take it step by step and see what happens in the 200m," he said.