Phelps goes 1-for-2 in California

Hansen triumphs in 200 breaststroke

Associated Press

January 15, 2007

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Michael Phelps of Rodgers Forge won his 400-yard individual medley specialty but lost to Brendan Hansen in the 200 breaststroke, and Natalie Coughlin lowered her 4-year-old American record in the 200 freestyle at the Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming last night.

The meet is being contested in yards, instead of Olympic meters.

Phelps challenged Hansen, the world-record holder in meters, in the 200 breast and came up 3.12 seconds short.

Hansen won in 1 minute, 53.78 seconds; Phelps finished in 1:56.90, a personal best in an event he hasn't raced in three years.

"I could see him pretty much the whole time," Phelps said. "I was like, 'Maybe I can catch him,' and then I was like, 'What am I thinking? There's absolutely no way I can catch him.' It was definitely fun to be able to race the best breaststroker of all time."

Hansen said he was nervous with Phelps in the field.

"I heard the crowd start going and I thought, 'I hope Michael isn't too close to me,'" he said. "It's so important to race when we're tired and that's what we're doing now."

Phelps picked up his third victory of the meet in the 400 IM, winning easily in 3:39.61.

"Tonight was a really, really good night for me," he said.

Coughlin won in 1:41.66 - 99 hundredths of a second faster than the time she swam in 2002 as a junior at California. Kaitlin Sandeno finished second in 1:46.61.

"The last 25 [yards] I could hear the crowd," Coughlin said. "The pool is so small, the noise echoes and I can feel the energy."

Coughlin returned later to win the 50 free in 22.03 seconds, defeating 1996 Olympian Allison Wagner. It was Coughlin's third victory of the meet, a tuneup for the world championships in March.

Sandeno, who trains with Phelps in Ann Arbor, Mich., gained her fourth victory in three days, winning the 400 IM in 4:09.74.

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Phelps goes 1-for-2 in California

Hansen triumphs in 200 breaststroke

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