Japanese swimmer Daiya Seto again upstaged American star Ryan Lochte on the second and final day of the Aquatic Super Series in Perth on Saturday.
Seto, 20, is best known for his short-course exploits, but made it four wins for the event when he beat Lochte, the world record holder in the event, in the 200m individual medley.
Lochte, an 11-time Olympic medallist looking for his first win at the meet, led for the opening 100m and looked to be on track as the field turned at the half-way mark.
But Seto surged into the lead in the third lap.
The American tried hard to overhaul Seto in the final freestyle lap, but the Japanese swimmer maintained his ascendancy to win in a time of 1:58.27.
Lochte was 0.30sec back, with Japan’s Hiromasa Fujimori finishing third.
Seto, the 2013 400m individual medley world champion, had also won the 200m freestyle, in which Lochte finished fifth, earlier in the evening.
After that win, he commented that he wasn’t happy with his times during the meet despite his winning form.
On the opening day, Seto won the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley.
Seto’s Japanese teammate, Ryosuke Irie, completed a successful double when he was impressive in taking out the 200m backstroke.
Irie also won the 100m backstroke on Friday and his time of 1:54.62 on Saturday was one of the fastest ever swum in Australia.
In the men’s 50m freestyle, there was an upset when Lochte’s training partner, Josh Schneider, surged past local fancies James Magnussen and Cameron McEvoy.
The two Australians had finished first and second in the 100m freestyle on Friday and were expected to do so again, but lowered their colours to Schneider in a thrilling finish.
World 100m freestyle champion Cate Campbell’s successful return from a shoulder injury continued when she beat her sister Bronte by the narrowest of margins in that event early in the evening.
Bronte Campbell looked set to turn the tables on her sister for much of the race, only to be beaten by 0.01sec.
There was an Aus$250,000 ($194,000) first prize for the team that scored the most points over the two days.
The host nation ended up winning with a tally of 626 points, 40 ahead of the United States on 586.
Japan were third on 548 and China finished on 520.