Flash! World Championships: Third World Record for Michael Phelps After Dominating Effort in 200 I.M.

By John Lohn

MELBOURNE, Australia, March 29. MICHAEL Phelps' magic continued tonight, as the 21-year-old posted his third world record of the week and captured his fourth gold medal by producing a splendid performance in the championship final of the 200 individual medley. Phelps, ahead of world-record pace throughout the race, touched the wall in 1:54.98. Phelps' previous record was 1:55.84, set at last summer's Pan Pacific Championships.

Phelps' newest world record complemented his standard-shattering swims in the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly. Halfway to eight gold medals, it's looking more and more like that number is within the grasp of the Club Wolverine standout. Phelps split 24.96 at the 50-meter mark, 53.58 at the 100 and 1:27.47 at the 200. Touching for the silver medal was American teammate Ryan Lochte, whose time of 1:56.19 is the sixth-fastest ever produced.

Lochte gave Phelps a challenge and was less than a half-second behind the eventual winner with 50 meters left in the race. But, Phelps surged off the final wall and continually pulled away heading into the finish. Phelps has the four-fastest times in history, with Lochte checking in with the next two. The bronze medal went to Hungary's Laszlo Cseh in 1:56.92. The only difference from the 2005 World Champs in Montreal was a flip-flop of medals between Lochte and Cseh.

"I am just happy to swim fast again and have my training work," Phelps said. "I went out there and went after it. That is what I have been doing for every race. Why stop something that works?"

Touching in fourth place with a time of 1:58.98 was Brazilian Thiago Pereira. He was followed by Canada's Brian Johns in 1:59.46 and Hungary's Tamas Kerekjarto in 1:59.57. The seventh man in the race to break the two-minute barrier was Lithuania's Vytautas Janusaitis (1:59.84). Eighth place was secured by Dean Kent of New Zealand in 2:00.73.

Click Here to view event results PDF file.

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