USA\'s Adrian beats Magnussen for 100 free gold

American Nathan Adrian touched out Australia\'s world champion James Magnussen by one-hundredth of a second to win the gold medal in a thrilling men\'s 100m freestyle final on Wednesday. Adrian won by a finger tip in a desperate lunge for the wall to deny Magnussen in 47.52sec with the Australian shattered to lose by the smallest possible margin. Adrian was ecstatic to beat the top-ranked Magnussen in the blue riband sprint race to leave the Australian men still searching for a gold medal in the pool at the Games. \"I have big hands, I guess,\" Adrian laughed after his gripping win. \"I had to swim my race, it\'s difficult with a guy next to you who is coming home in low 24 (secs) next to you. The second 50 (metres) was nerve-wracking.\" It was a huge disappointment for Magnussen after being a member of the highly-rated Australian team that missed out on a medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay on Sunday. \"I did my best and it wasn\'t quite good enough,\" Magnussen said. \"I have felt a bit disappointed in the last few days, it has been a tough Olympics. \"It has made me stronger, it will make me a better swimmer and a better person. \"When you lose by such a small margin, you look back and think \'what could I have done differently?\', I have no regrets though.\" Canada\'s three-time Olympian Brent Hayden claimed bronze ahead of the Olympic 200m freestyle champion Yannick Agnel of France. Brazilian world record holder Cesar Cielo finished sixth.