Manaudou, the 400m Olympic champion and world record holder, struck gold in the 100m backstroke and 200m medley to add to her 800m freestyle crown she won on Wednesday, taking her tally to three golds.

Her backstroke victory came after she produced a devastating late finish, moving from sixth at the turn to surge to gold.

Manaudou also managed to break the French record in the 4x200m relay at the end of the afternoon with 7min 56.44sec.

The 19-year-old from Villeurbanne -- who became the first French woman ever to win Olympic gold when she triumphed in Athens two years ago -- is still in the hunt for three more golds in Budapest.

If she is successful in the 200m and 400m freestyles and the 4x100m freestyle relay she will become the most successful woman swimmer ever at a single European Championships.

Looking forward to Sunday's 400m freestyle, Manaudou said she was aiming to break her world record of 4min 3.03sec.

During her 800m win, she passed the 400m mark at about 4min 5sec on her way to a European record of 8:19.29.

Though Manaudou is not usually given to bold predictions, she is setting out with an eye on the clock in the 800m. "I really want to break my world record," she said.

Germany broke the women's 4x200m freestyle relay world record in 7min 50.82sec, bettering the previous best set by the United States of 7:53.42 set at the Athens Olympics.

Among the men, winners on Thursday included Germany's Heige Meeuw in the 50m backstroke, Poland's Pawel Korzeniowski in the 200m butterfly and compatriot Slawomir Kuzcko in the 200m breaststroke.