Budapest - Camille Lacourt of France won the men's 50m backstroke gold for the third straight world championships on Sunday in Budapest.
The 32-year-old Lacourt clocked 24.35 seconds with Junya Koga of Japan taking silver at 0.16 back and Matt Grevers of the USA earning bronze at 0.21.
The backstroke ace said he was delighted to complete the hat-trick after also taking the title at the Barcelona 2013 and Kazan 2015 championships.
"I did what I needed to win the gold, I was really quick and finished really well," said the Frenchman.
"I'm really satisfied, I feel lots of joy."