Phelps breaks 200 fly mark

His 1st world record since 2004 comes at Pan Pacific meet

By Beth Harris | Associated Press

August 18, 2006

VICTORIA, British Columbia - Michael Phelps set a world record for the first time since 2004 last night, lowering his mark in the 200-meter butterfly at the Pan Pacific Championships.

The 21-year-old superstar from Rodgers Forge came from behind on the final lap to win in 1 minute, 53.80 seconds. His mark of 1:53.93 had been set at the 2003 world championships in Barcelona, Spain, a prelude to the Athens Olympics, when he won eight medals, including six gold.

Phelps was under world record pace by .16 of a second after the opening 50 meters, but he fell off it as Ryuichi Shibata of Japan overtook him and led the next two laps.

Known for his finishing strength, Phelps roared back in the closing strokes to win by 2.02 seconds. Shibata was second in 1:55.82 and Takeshi Matsuda of Japan was third in 1:56.20.

Checking his time on the scoreboard, Phelps screamed, "Yeah!" and thrust both arms in the air.

"When the crowd is cheering, you can always tell that something good is happening," he said. "I heard it coming off the last wall especially and I tried to do a good kickout and build momentum in the last 50."

Phelps had deliberately skipped the 200 freestyle earlier yesterday to conserve his energy for the fly. It paid off with his first world record since winning the 400 individual medley in Athens.

"We really wanted to focus on the 200 fly and try to get the meet started off on a good note," he said.

Katie Hoff of Towson, a 17-year-old who trains at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, also started the meet with a victory, winning the 200 freestyle in 1:58.02.

"I felt really good the whole race and to start off on a best time on the first day of the meet gives me a lot of confidence," she said.

In another race, Jess Schipper of Australia won the women's 200 fly in a world record of 2:05.40. That bettered the mark of 2:05.61 set by Otylia Jedrzejczak of Poland at last year's world championships in Montreal.

"I heard the announcer for the first time and whole crowd went wild and I thought, 'Oh, I must be doing all right,'" Schipper said.

Yuko Nakanishi of Japan was second in 2:06.52, and teammate Yurie Yano was third.

The United States and Japan were tied atop the medal standings with eight each after one night of competition.

But the Americans won a leading five gold, capped by Kate Ziegler's victory in the 1,500 freestyle. Her time of 15:55.01 bettered the championship mark of 16:04.84 set by Hayley Lewis of Australia in 1992.

Hayley Peirsol, younger sister of 100 backstroke winner Aaron Peirsol, was second.

Japan had one gold, three silver and four bronze. Australia earned a gold, silver and bronze on the night.

The evening's only upset came in the 100 backstroke, with Hanae Ito of Japan beating world record-holder Natalie Coughlin of the United States.

Coughlin, the only woman to go under 1-minute in the event, led after 50 meters. But Ito and teammate Reiko Nakamura were bearing down on her, and the three women were almost evenly matched approaching the wall.

Ito barely out-touched Coughlin to win in 1:00.63.

Coughlin was timed in 1:00.66 and Nakamura finished third in 1:00.86.

Aaron Peirsol has been equally dominant in the men's 100 back in recent years. He won easily in 53.32, breaking the championship record of 53.60 set by former American rival Lenny Krayzelburg in 1999.

Teammate Ryan Lochte was second in 54.02 and Tomomi Morita of Japan third.

American Klete Keller took advantage of Phelps' absence to win the 200 freestyle.

Keller took the lead after 100 meters and closed nearly a body length ahead of South Korean Tae Hwan Park. Keller touched in 1:46.20. Zhang Lin, one of 13 Chinese swimmers competing this week, was third.

Andrew Hurd gave the red-clad Canadian crowd something to cheer in the evening's first race, winning the 800 freestyle in 7:55.88, a national record.