BEIJING — Maybe doing one of the toughest doubles in swimming was too much to ask of Ryan Lochte this morning.
Sure, he is about the only swimmer in the planet who doesn’t genuflect when passing Michael Phelps. Lochte always talked of beating Phelps, not racing for second, and he almost pulled off the “Do You Believe in Miracles?” upset at the Olympic Trials.
But in an Olympics that seems more of a Phelps coronation than a swim meet, Lochte’s best shot fell short, even though he had the adrenaline of his first individual Olympic gold medal as his booster.
Phelps, staying on pace for eight gold medals in Beijing, blew away the field in the 200-meter individual medley in a world-record 1 minute, 54.23 seconds. That’s six races, six golds, six world records. Phelps, with two races remaining, is one gold away from Mark Spitz’s record seven, and no individual has gotten close.
Lochte certainly wasn’t. Stoked by beating defending Olympic champion Aaron Peirsol in the men’s 200 backstroke in a world-record 1:53.94, Lochte had all of 25 minutes to cool down and get ready to beat the best swimmer in history.
Lochte had the best start but was third after the first 50 meters, the butterfly, and never got any closer. Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh, second to Phelps in Sunday’s 400 IM, was second and closed to within .05 of Phelps at the halfway point after the backstroke.
Phelps’ worst stroke is the breaststroke, but his was still better than anybody else’s in the field. Phelps stretched his lead to 1.11 with the 50 freestyle left and won by 2.29 seconds. Cseh set his second European record and still couldn’t beat Phelps.
“I’ve practiced and practiced doing doubles like that,” said Lochte, who settled for the bronze. “I just had to forget about the 200 back and focus for the ‘2’ IM.”
Phelps can tie Spitz’s mark in the 100 fly (tonight, in America) and then break it in Sunday’s medley relay.
“The next two races are pretty important,” Phelps said. “Tomorrow morning’s race is probably the most important race. I think (coach) Bob (Bowman) and I talked about it. What we want to do is get out with a fast first 50 and try to set up a good race. For me, being a body length behind after the first 50, like I was yesterday, isn’t where I want to be.”
Lochte took plenty of solace in his first individual Olympic gold. Peirsol, attempting to become the first man to double the 100 and 200 backstroke in back-to-back Olympics, already had been declared the best backstroker in history.
But Lochte’s kick proved too much as he finished in a world-record 1:53.94, beating the mark of 1:54.32 he shared with Peirsol.
Said Peirsol: “Ryan swam a wonderful race, and I swam the best possible race I could. Apparently it takes a world record just to win it.”
The Phelps medal parade obscured the upset by American Rebecca Soni in the 200 breaststroke in world-record time. With no major international medals to her credit, the University of Southern California senior-to-be upset Australia’s Leisel Jones, the previous world-record holder. Jones was upset in Athens four years ago and fell again this morning.
Soni was even with Jones entering the last 50 but flew past her in a 2:20.22, one of 24 world swim marks in these Olympics.
“It felt great,” said Soni, who took silver behind Jones in Tuesday’s 100 breaststroke. “I just tried to stay relaxed and not rush through the water, keep my stroke going and power to the end.”
Also, Natalie Coughlin of the U.S. took the bronze in the 100 freestyle, and 15-year-old Elizabeth Beisel qualified second in the 200 backstroke along with American Margaret Hoel-zer.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
