Burgh posted 58.46 seconds to wipe out the previous world record set by Australian swimmer Brenton Rickard at the 2009 Rome World Championships. Christian Sprenger from Australia took silver at 58.93 and Brendan Hansen from the United States clocked 59.49 to pocket a bronze.

Burgh, bronze medalist at the Shanghai Worlds last year, was the fastest off starting block and led all the way to victory.

"I don't even know what to think. I don't know how to describe my feeling at this moment," said an excited Burgh in tears.

"I have been working towards this goal and it's amazing as I have been doing so much work over the past four years."

Sprenger, 0.47 second slower than Burgh, said: "The first 50 (meters) I set up really well. I put everything together, it was a perfect race."

"Sometimes you just have that swim and everything falls into place. For me that was tonight," added Sprenger, silver medalist in 4x100m medley relay at Beijing Olympics.

Hansen, runner-up of the event at the Beijing Games, was sixth after the first 50m and powered home for the bronze.

It was the second world record set in the pool on Sunday evening, with the other one renewed by American world champion Dana Vollmer in the women's 100m butterfly final.

Two-time defending Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima from finished off the podium.