World recordholder Leisel Jones just can't seem to win when it counts.

Jones once again succumbed to the pressure of a big occasion, having to settle for bronze in the 100m breaststroke at the Athens Olympics.

China's Luo Xuejuan claimed the gold in one minute 06.64 seconds - 0.27s outside Jones's year-old world record (1:06.37) set in a semi-final at the Barcelona world championships.

Victorian Brooke Hanson, competing in her first Olympics at age 26, swam the fastest two laps of her life to power to the wall in 1:07.15, beating Jones for the silver medal by 0.01s - the smallest margin in swimming.

"I guess I'm just not meant to win," a deflated Jones said.

She won silver at the Sydney 2000 Games as a 15-year-old.

Hanson's father Ian, the swimming team's Olympic liaison officer in Athens, was poolside to watch his daughter race.

But because of official protocols he was unable to give her a hug.

Hanson's swim gives her a chance of a gold medal on Saturday as part of the powerful Australian women's medley relay.

"I guess four years ago I sat at home and watched the Olympics in Sydney and was basically deciding whether I was going to retire from the sport," she said.

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