DUAL Olympic champion Grant Hackett is seamlessly reclaiming the distance throne he temporarily abdicated when he underwent shoulder surgery last December.

In only his second competition since the operation that ruled him out of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Hackett set the fastest 800m freestyle time in the world in the past year in a short course pool.

At the Victorian short course titles at the weekend, the 25-year-old distance king demonstrated that he was right on track to defend his three world titles in Melbourne next March.

Swimming virtually on his own, he set a time of 7min 40.67sec, faster than Russian Yuri Prilukov’s winning time at the world championships in Shanghai in April (7:41.94).

In his first competitive outing in Brisbane in May, Hackett set the fastest 400m freestyle time in the world this year.

His Melbourne-based coach, Ian Pope, was impressed with Hackett’s form, particularly as he chose not to wear the hi-tech full-length suit that is part of the elite swimmer’s standard competition armoury these days.

“He didn’t suit up and he went out a bit soft but he negative split it coming home (swimming the second half of the race faster than the first),” Pope said.

Pope said the strength of Hackett’s finishing indicated that he had regained good fitness levels ahead of his first championship hit-out at the Australian short course championships in Hobart from August 25-28.

However another world champion, Jade Edmistone, has been forced out of the Australian team for the Pan Pacific championships to be held in Victoria, Canada, a week earlier.

Edmistone, the world record-holder in the 50m breaststroke, has been troubled by a groin injury and has been unable to kick her legs in training.