By John Lohn<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, Australia, March 31. MAKE it 6-for-6 for Michael Phelps, packaging one of the greatest \u2013 if not the finest \u2013 weeks this sport has ever seen. Prevailing in the latest chapter of his long-running and friendly duel with teammate Ian Crocker, Phelps took gold in the 100 butterfly with the third-fastest swim in history, an effort of 50.77.<\/p>\n
Phelps has now won titles in the 200 freestyle, 100 and 200 butterfly events, the 200 individual medley and as a member of the United States' 400 free relay and 800 free relay. He could move his gold-medal count to eight tomorrow by winning the 400 individual medley and with an American triumph in the 400 medley relay.<\/p>\n
As expected, Crocker pushed the pace and held a .43 advantage at the turn. But, Phelps kept driving down the final lap and narrowly edged the world-record holder at the wall, in a finish that was similar to their Olympic matchup. In Athens, Phelps also used a late surge to win. Crocker wound up in 50.82, the fourth-fastest time in history. His global standard sits at 50.40.<\/p>\n
"In the 100, you have to nail the finish and I just tried to get my hand on the wall," Phelps said. "I tried to take it out because I have a little bit of speed this year. Swimming in front of this crowd and in this country is special. I want to thank everyone here."<\/p>\n
The NCAA champion in the 100 butterfly for the University of Arizona, Albert Subirats grabbed the bronze medal in 51.82, ahead of the 52.03 of Lyndon Ferns (South Africa) and the 52.23 of Ukrainian Andriy Serdinov, the Olympic bronze medalist. Michael Cavic of Serbia was sixth in 52.53 and the field was capped by Russia's Nikolay Skvortsov (52.54) and Kenya's Jason Dunford (52.70).<\/p>\n