Cook qualified for the final in a personal best time of 27.91

The 22-year-old City of Newcastle star finished fifth in 28.00 secs, 0.37 behind winner Germany's Mark Warnecke.

American Mark Gangloff claimed the silver in 27.71, with Japan's Kosuke Kitajima taking the bronze in 27.78.

Cook was the sole Briton in the final after defending champion James Gibson's shock semi-final exit on Tuesday.

Reflecting on his performance, Cook admitted he had lacked the strong finish needed to get among the medals.

I've learned a lot about myself and hopefully there's more to come Chris Cook

"I worked really hard but it just was not good enough. I was flowing for the first 30m and then it started to slip away," he said.

"I didn't have a good finish like I did in the semi-final. I was in the final just to get experience and have fun.

"But I've learned a lot about myself and hopefully there's more to come."

Meanwhile, Britain's Melanie Marshall produced a disappointing showing in the final of the women's 200m freestyle.

The 23-year-old trailed home in seventh place in one minute 59.36 seconds.

Solenne Figues of France claimed gold in 1:58.60. Italy's Federica Pellegrini won silver and China's Yang Yu and Josefin Lillhage of Sweden dead-heated for third.

Marshall said: "I'm annoyed at that performance.

"This is my first senior individual final. It's a step forward but the result's still pretty garbage."