OSAKA - Robbie Van Der Zant has emerged as the star of the Australian East Asian Games swimming in Osaka after winning his fourth event and finishing second in another on the final night of competition at the Osaka Pool tonight.

Van Der Zant, one of Australia's two co-captains on the Dolphins team with fellow Olympian Trent Steed, swam the perfect race to win his specialist 200m individual medley and then helped the Australian 4x100m medley relay to a brilliant second behind Japan in the final race of the six-day meet.

The 25-year-old from Yeronga Park in Brisbane had earlier won the 100m freestyle and helped Australia to victories in the4x100 and 4x200m freestyle relays.

Although Australia were visitors at these Games, the 31-strong team won six events, finished second on 11 occasions and third, four times.

In an unofficial point score kept by the Australian team, host nation Japan finished on top with 356 points from Australia (309) and China (308).

The Japanese and Chinese teams will now prepare for the 9th World Championships in Fukuoka in July, buoyed by some world class performances, particularly China's world record holder in the 200m breaststroke Qui Hi - who also swam a world class 200m individual medley last night of 2:13.06 and a Japanese team which has a vastly improved team of youngsters.

But the Australians, many of whom finished third and fourth in their individual events at the Telstra Australian Championships behind the World Championship team members, can be pleased with their performances - which included 26 personal best times.

The Australian team was led superbly by men co-captains Van Der Zant and Steed, who was gallant fifth in the 200 IM final, and women's captains Melinda Geraghty and Jordana Webb.

But it was Van Der Zant, Sydneysiders Jimmy Piper and Lara Davenport who were the individual stars.

Van Der Zant swam brilliantly in the 200 IM tonight, coming from fifth at the end of the butterfly, fourth at the backstroke, third at the end of the breaststroke leg to surge past Japan's Takhiro Mori in a thrilling final 25 metres to claim his fourth win of the meet.

The Brisbane based University student clocked the second best time of his career, 2:01.97 to defeat Mori (2:02.25) and China's Xie Xuefeng (2:03.34).

But the Japanese, having their best night of the Games, provided Australia with very strong opposition again in a world class 4x100m medley relay - with Japan winning in 3:38.88 from Australia 3:40.11.

The Japanese time would have seen them finish fifth at last year's Olympics and the Australians eighth.

Atsushi Nishikori (56.05) gave Japan a narrow lead over Australia's Beau Mannix (56.30) in the opening backstroke leg, before Kosuke Kitajima (1:00.21) went up against Australia's latest start Jimmy Piper (1:01.12), before Takasji Yamamoto (52.33) against Australia's Burl Reid (52.62).

It was all left to Van Der Zant and Japan's freestyle sprinter Yoshihiro Okumura, with a powerful turn from the Japanese champion sealing the victory for the host nation.

Okumura split 50.29 and Van Der Zant 50.07 in a thrilling finale to the six-day meet.

Earlier in the night Davenport (2:13.52) added her fourth placing of the meet, with a gutsy third behind Japanese Yuko Nakanishi (2:10.26) in the 200m butterfly. Australia's Felicity Galvez was fourth in 2:13.67.

In other events, Australia's Andrew Affleck was an unlucky fourth in the men's 1500m freestyle, beaten by 0.07 by Japan's Shunichi Fujita, with the gold medal going to China's Shibin Sheng.

Affleck clocked 15:34.34, with Australia's second competitor Stephen Penfold, seventh in 15:49.45.

The women's 50m freestyle saw Australia's Sophie Edington (26.08) and Melinda Geraghty (26.23), finish fourth and fifth respectively, in times just outside their personal best.

In the women's 200m backstroke, Melissa Morgan was fifth in 2:17.52 and Chloe Bennett sixth in 2:17.90.