By Neil Silver, PA Sport

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Ian Thorpe tonight faces the biggest threat to his quest for a magnificent seven gold medals at the Commonwealth Games.

The 19-year-old Australian swimming phenomenon - who is turning the Manchester Commonwealth Games into his very own Golden Jubilee - made it five down, two to go, as he struck gold in the 100 metres freestyle last night.

But Thorpe accepts that gold medal number six, in the 100m backstroke, promises to provide his toughest test yet as he comes face to face with Matt Welsh, the Australian champion who was faster than him in both the heats and the semi-finals.

"I've never expected to win seven gold medals here, I have just expected to swim as well as I can," said Thorpe. "Most people think I expect to win seven and I would like to, but I just don't think it is going to happen.

"Matt is a second faster than me over 100 metres, so for me to make that kind of improvement is unlikely, and for that reason the 200m backstroke will be the toughest race for me to compete in."

Another reason is that Thorpe's young body is beginning to show some wear and tear from his exertions in this past week.

"Physically my body is starting to break down at this stage," he said. "I can feel a few ailments but they are nothing a good bit of physio can't cure. But mentally I am just as excited as when I first came to these Games."

Welsh, 25, will be aiming to make up for the disappointment of being disqualified from the 200m backstroke and also hoping to prevent his compatriot from leaving Manchester with a 100 per cent record of seven out of seven titles.

It might be a dangerous thing to provoke Thorpe, but there was an air of confidence and a touch of the mind games from Welsh which sets up a mouth-watering final.

He said: "That was a swim just to secure Lane 4 in the final, that's what everyone wants. I thought about going faster, but the race before was slower, so that was all that was necessary."

In the end, Thorpe qualified for the final as only the fourth fastest, and that means he will have to swim in one of the outer lanes, something he is hardly accustomed to.

There was a feather in the swimming cap for Scotland's Gregor Tait, who was third fastest qualifier in 56.32. Two Englishmen, Adam Ruckwood and Martin Harris, also made it into tonight's final.

Earlier on, the 'Thorpedo' set another Games record as he cruised to a 100m freestyle victory in a personal best time of 48.73 seconds, beating the 48.81 he set in the semi-finals.

In claiming yet another impressive victory, Thorpe beat his haul of four gold medals he won in the last Commonwealth games in Kuala Lumpur four years ago, when he was just 15-years-old.

Thorpe's final target to complete the magnificent seven will be the 4x100m medley relay tomorrow night. His gold last night added to his titles this week in the 200 and 400m freestyle, plus 4x100 and 4x200m freestyle relays.

Meanwhile, England's Matt Kidd narrowly missed out on a medal as he came fourth behind Thorpe in the 100m final in 49.99 seconds.

The 22-year-old from Leatherhead said: "I'm disappointed with that swim - I've been behind my goals since the semis."