Vladimir Morozov became only the second man in history to swim under 45 seconds for the 100 metres freestyle today ©Getty Images

Russia's Vladimir Morozov won the men's 100 metre freestyle final at the International Swimming Federation (FINA) World Cup event in Singapore today, becoming only the second man in history to swim sub-45 seconds.

The 26-year-old touched the wall in 44.95sec to take gold, a time described by some as "downright frightening".

The world record currently stands just 100th of a second faster at 44.94.

That time was set by Frenchman Amaury Leveaux a full decade ago, at the 2008 European Championships.

Morozov cemented himself as the top seed for the final with a comparatively casual time of 47.03 in the heats this morning, before setting a new Russian national record and World Cup record this afternoon.

Katinka Hosszu picked up another win in the 400m individual medley ©Getty Images
Katinka Hosszu picked up another win in the 400m individual medley ©Getty Images

The previous World Cup record stood at 45.16, which Morozov himself set just a few days ago in Tokyo.

The result has helped him further distance himself from his rivals at the top of the men's standings, with a further 999 ranking points.

Australia’s Kyle Chalmers came second in 45.54, while Blake Pieroni from the US came third in 46.26.

Elsewhere today's session also saw wins for Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom and Hungary's Katinka Hosszu, who won the women's 50m butterfly and 400m individual medley respectively.

The men's 50m backstroke was won by China’s Jiayu Xu, who clocked a time of 22.71.