Hackett has not lost a 1500m freestyle race since 1996

Hackett led from start to finish to take gold in 14 minutes 42.58 seconds, with American Larsen Jensen holding off Britain's David Davies to win silver.

Hackett, 25, ended the championships with three golds, having also won the 400m and 800m freestyle events.

He is the first person to win seven individual world titles.

Hackett, who has not lost a 1500m freestyle race since 1996, had shared the previous record of six titles with fellow Australian Ian Thorpe and American Michael Phelps.

"It is an awesome feeling to be able to achieve something like that and be the first person in history to do it," said Hackett.

"It is something that I have been focussing on and it's really satisfying to do it."

Phelps picked up his fifth gold in Montreal without even getting wet when the United States won the men's 4x100m medley relay.

A lot has happened over the past year and I'm not really swimming how I would dream of swimming right now Michael Phelps, who won five golds and a silver

Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker and Jason Lezak took gold in 3:31.85 ahead of the Russian and Japanese teams.

Phelps was not selected in the team but was awarded a medal because he swam in the heats.

American teenager Katie Hoff collected her third gold when she won the 400m individual medley to ensure the US topped the medals table with 15 golds.

Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry was second behind Hoff, with American Kaitlin Sandeno taking bronze.

The final night saw Australia win three golds to finish second with 13, while South Africa, France, Zimbabwe and Poland finished tied for third with two each.

Australia's Jade Edmistone set the ninth world record of the championships to win the women's 50m breaststroke final.

Edmistone clocked 30.45 seconds to shave 0.12secs off the 30.57 set by Zoe Baker at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

American teenager Jessica Hardy, who set the 100m breaststroke world record earlier this week, was second in 30.85 with Brooke Hanson of Australia third in 30.89.

Edmistone's compatriot Libby Lenton won the women's 50m freestyle to claim her third gold after previously winning two relays.

Lenton hit the front in the final few metres to touch in 24.59secs, with Marlene Veldhuis of the Netherlands second in 24.83 and Zhu Yingwen of China third in 24.91.

Hungary's Laszlo Cseh capitalised on Phelps's decision to skip the men's 400m individual medley to win in a time of four minutes 09.63 seconds.

Luca Marin of Italy finished second in 4:11.67 while Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia was third in 4:13.47.

Aristeidis Grigoriadis became the first Greek to win a world title with victory in the men's 50m backstroke final, snatching the gold in 24.95.