While she saves her special hot pink suit for finals, gold is proving more Libby Lenton's colour after she again smashed the world record to win the women's 100 metre freestyle at the Australian short-course championships.

Lenton became the first woman to ever go under 52 seconds for the distance in Monday night's semi-final, when she broke Sweden's Therese Alshammar's five-year-old world mark of 52.17 seconds.

She bettered her own record of 51.91 in the final, clocking 51.70 at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

Lenton said she had saved her lucky hot pink suit especially for Tuesday's race, with her own world record in her sights.

"I love this pink suit, it's my extra little bit I keep for finals and it makes me get excited and ready to race," said the beaming 20-year-old Queenslander." She said she and coach Stephan Widmar had pin-pointed improving her start to achieve the super-fast time.

"Stephan told me to concentrate on my start because it was a bit slower than normal last night so that's where we thought we could get that extra little bit." Victorians Shayne Reese (54.79) and Danni Miatke (54.71) filled the minor placings.

Lenton finished last week's world long-course championships in Montreal with three gold medals and two silvers, including the 50 metre freestyle title.

These national titles double at trials for the 2006 world short-course championships in Shanghai next April, where Lenton will defend her 100m title won in Indianapolis last year.

In other events, triple world champion Grant Hackett overcame his shock disqualification and subsequent reinstatement earlier to cruise to victory in the men's 400m freestyle event.

Six swimmers including Hackett were disqualified for not appearing in the marshalling area at the correct time ahead of the heats but a protest was successful.

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