By Emily Goddard at the Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul

Ryan Lochte wins World Short Course 100m Istanbul December 16 2012December 16 - Ryan Lochte captured his fifth and sixth gold medals at the FINA World Short Course Championships here today by winning the 100 metres individual medley, a day after he broke the world record in the event, and also helping the United States to victory in the 4x100m medley.


It took the 28-year-old American's overall tally to eight - which if he had been a "country" would have left him top of the medals table.

Lochte swam the freestyle leg of the 4x100m medley and guided the United States to victory in a time of 3min 21.03sec ahead of Russia 3:22.86 and Australia 3:24.77.

The victory gave Lochte his sixth gold of this year's event and equalled his haul at the World Short Course Championships held in Dubai in 2010.

Earlier, the five-time Olympic champion had won his fifth gold medal, in the 100m individual medley in 51.21sec, ahead of Kenneth To of Australia and George Bovell III of Trinidad and Tobago.

That shaved another 0.50 off the time he had swam yesterday in the semi-final when he broke the world record with a time of 50.71, eclipsing the mark set by Peter Mankoc of Slovenia in December 2009.

His medal haul was completed when he finished second to Poland's Radoslaw Kawecki in the 200m backstroke.

On Friday (December 14), he had also broken world record in the 200m individual medley and then shocked a young fan by giving them the medal as a souvenir.

In non-Lochte related news, Japan's Kazuya Kaneda swam a Championship record of 1:51.01 minute 51.01 to win the 200m freestyle, while Denmark's Rikke Pedersen won the women's 200m breaststroke final in a Championship record of 2:16.08.

Rikke Pedersen celebrates winning 200m breakstroke World Short Course Istanbul December 16Denmark's Rikke Pedersen celebrates winning the 200m breaststroke

Britain also enjoyed a satisfying final day as Fran Halsall and Jemma Lowe scooped medals to take the team's total to six, one of which was gold.

Halsall, competing in her only individual event of the Championships, stormed home to silver in the 50m freestyle less than 30 minutes after Lowe had struck her second medal of the week with 100m butterfly bronze.

Halsall sliced more than half a second off her qualification time to claim silver in 23.87 behind Belarus' Aliaksandra Herasimenia.

Having captured 200m butterfly bronze on the opening day of the Championships, Lowe took 0.01 off her Welsh record to repeat the feat over half the distance.

The 22-year old came home in 56.66 to win the eighth international short course medal of her career behind Italy's Ilaria Bianchi, who won in 56.13, and China's Liu Zige in 56.58.

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