For the second straight year, Australia's sprint king Cameron McEvoy has missed the 100m freestyle podium at a major competition.
But McEvoy is as determined as ever to claim the world No.1 status, saying he is proud of how he has bounced back from his Rio Olympics disappointment.
McEvoy dared to dream of improving on his 2015 world titles 100m silver medal in Hungary.
Especially after finally overcoming the crushing disappointment of his second-last finish in the Rio 100m final.
However, when the dust settled on the blue riband 100m final at Duna Arena McEvoy again found himself walking away empty handed.
McEvoy was pipped for bronze by 0.03sec as American Caeleb Dressel looked to have announced a new chapter in sprinting by claiming gold in 47.17sec -- the fastest winning time since the now banned supersuit era of 2009.
It is also the third fastest time ever in a textile suit.
Yet McEvoy, 23, believed the result was a "huge shift" from Rio and was convinced he was back on track to challenge the world's best.
"I'm pretty proud of the way I've bounced back from that (Rio) and being able to get up and do what I did then," McEvoy, who clocked 47.92, said.
"It (fourth placing) is not going to make me afraid to come back next time on the world stage and challenge for that world 100m freestyle title."
McEvoy was the red-hot Rio favourite after clocking the fastest time in a textile suit at the Olympic trials -- a mind blowing 47.04.
History shows McEvoy was upstaged in Brazil by his teenage teammate Kyle Chalmers who claimed a shock 100m gold medal.
Chalmers, 19, did not compete at Budapest after undergoing corrective heart surgery.
It took McEvoy an age to recover from his Rio failure.
However, he was undeterred by his latest podium miss despite Dressel's dominance.
Dressel touched the wall 0.70 ahead of fellow American, London Olympic champion Nathan Adrian -- the second biggest winning margin in world titles history.
"I definitely think that was a better swim (than Rio) and that's a big positive," McEvoy said.
"I feel like it's a huge shift.
"It makes me pretty motivated to get back in the water after this meet and train my arse off again and get up to that No.1 spot."
McEvoy's rookie teammate Jack Cartwright finished seventh in 48.24.
Cartwright's 47.97 semi-final time ensured he became only the third Australian 18-year-old ever to crack the 48 second barrier.
"I've made huge progressions in the three years I've been under (coach) Dean Boxall and I can't wait for the years to come," Cartwright said.
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