Magnussen beat an impressive field in the 100-metre freestyle final at the Queensland championships including Kyle Chalmers, Cam McEvoy and James Roberts.

The two-time world champion touched the wall first in a time of 49.23 seconds ahead of Jack Cartwright (49.33) and Chalmers (49.60).

McEvoy finished fifth and Roberts sixth.

Coach Mitch Falvey said Magnussen swam slightly quicker in the heats (48.90 seconds) and it was a relatively slow final.

“The heat swim was really good and we would have liked him to go slightly faster in the final, but sometimes that’s got to do with the other swimmers,” Falvey said.

“We were really pleased with how he swam and of course you always want to go as fast as you can.”

Falvey said it was an important swim on the path to Gold Coast 2018, but they weren’t getting carried away with the result.

“You set your goals of winning races and anytime you do that it’s a bonus,” he said.

“You don’t read too much into it, but it is a stepping stone on the way to the Commonwealth Games.”

Magnussen’s win came on the back of comments from Roberts’ coach Ashley Callus that the Port Macquarie product “hadn’t done anything for years.”

He suggested Magnussen “wasn’t even in the mix” alongside Roberts, McEvoy and Chalmers.

The 26-year-old said while it didn’t motivate him, he had heard the comments and chose to ignore them.

"I think that shows a complete lack of class; I'm never going to stoop to that level," he said.

"Winners focus on winning and losers focus on winners ... it's water off a duck's back because I only take into consideration people's opinion that I respect and that are within my circle."

Magnussen will now prepare for the NSW state titles on January 19 at Sydney Olympic Park.