beijing Michael Phelps won his sixth gold medal of the Beijing Olympics today in record time, defeating rival Laszlo Cseh and teammate Ryan Lochte in the 200-meter individual medley.
Phelps defended his title from four years ago in Athens, winning in 1 minute, 54.23 seconds and lowering his world record of 1:54.80 set at last month’s U.S. trials. It was the American’s sixth world mark in Beijing.
Cseh of Hungary took the silver in 1:56.52, his third runner-up finish to Phelps in these Games.
Lochte earned the bronze in 1:56.53, 29 minutes after he upset defending champion Aaron Peirsol to win the 200-meter backstroke.
It was the 21st world record set during the swimming competition.
Lochte got in quite a warm-up for his showdown with Phelps: a world record and the first individual gold medal of his career.
The laid-back Floridian edged fellow American Peirsol in the 200 backstroke, winning with a time of 1 minute, 53.94 seconds less than a half hour before the scheduled start of the 200 IM.
Lochte, once known as “Mr. Runner-up” for his frequent second-place finishes to Phelps and Peirsol, broke the world record he shared with Peirsol.
Lochte stunned Peirsol at last year’s world championships in 1:54.32, then Peirsol matched the time in beating Lochte at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month. Peirsol won the 100 back in Beijing, but failed to match his backstroke double from Athens four years ago.
Peirsol earned the silver in 1:54.33, and Russia’s Arkady Vyatchanin claimed the bronze.
Lochte didn’t have long to celebrate. He was scheduled to return 29 minutes later for a daunting double, facing Phelps in the final of the 200 individual medley.
Phelps now has six gold medals and six world records, still solidly on course to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Rebecca Soni gave the U.S. women’s swim team a much-needed boost, setting a world record in the 200 breaststroke with an upset of Australia’s Leisel Jones.
Soni had already claimed a surprising silver behind Jones in the 100 breast, a race she wasn’t even supposed to be in. She took over when Jessica Hardy failed a doping test at the U.S. trials and was dropped from the team.
Jones was out front over the first 100, but Soni came on strong at the end, finishing a full body length ahead of the Aussie in 2:20.22. She beat Jones’ mark of 2:20.54, set two 2 1/2 years ago in Melbourne.
Jones claimed silver and Norway’s Sara Nordenstam took bronze.
Soni’s victory came about 14 hours after American distance hopes Katie Hoff and Kate Ziegler both failed to make the final of the 800 freestyle.
Lochte’s win was the 20th world record set in swimming during the Olympics, with two days still to go.
In the women’s 100 freestyle, Britta Steffen of Germany won the gold medal in an Olympic-record 53.12. Australia’s Lisbeth Trickett took the silver finishing just .04 seconds behind.
American Natalie Coughlin was third, earning the bronze with a time of 53.39 for her fifth medal of these Games.
