Phelps nets seventh gold, fourth world record

MELBOURNE – Michael Phelps of the United States broke his own world record in the men’s 400 metres individual medley final to collect his seventh gold medal at the world championships yesterday.

Phelps, 21, won in four minutes 06.22 seconds to wipe 2.04 off the previous mark of 4:08.26 which he set at the 2004 Athens Olympics. It was his fourth individual world record of the week.Phelps’s team mate Ryan Lochte finished second in 4:09.74 after leading at the 200 and Italian Luca Marin was third in 4:09.88.Phelps, who also won the 200 medley, 200 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 100 butterfly and two relays, became the first person to win seven gold medals at a single world championships, bettering the previous record of six set by Australia’s Ian Thorpe at Fukuoka, Japan in 2001.”I didn’t expect to be two seconds under my world record tonight,” said the 21-year-old from Michigan.”I knew this was going to be the hardest race.I was emotionally dead, almost physically dead and I had to step up.”I didn’t feel good this morning, didn’t feel good in warm-up so I tried to block it out and think about what I did in training and use it in the race.”Phelps had been bidding to win eight events and go one better than American Mark Spitz’s golden haul of seven at the 1972 Munich Olympics, but his chances were dashed when the US team were disqualified from the medley relay during yesterday morning heats.The US set the fastest time in the heats but were disqualified when Ian Crocker left the starting blocks too early at the second changeover.Phelps, who did not swim in the heats but would have taken part in the final had the Americans qualified, said it was a mistake they would get over.”Team USA goes into a meet as one, and that’s how we’re going to exit.Everything can’t go perfect so it’s all about how you adapt from these things and learn from your experiences.”It definitely wasn’t intentional.They all wanted to swim and they all wanted to get us into the finals tonight and that’s the goal but sometimes you slip and make a mistake.”Ian will battle back from that and next time when we have a relay like that we’ll remember this.”Nampa-ReutersIt was his fourth individual world record of the week.Phelps’s team mate Ryan Lochte finished second in 4:09.74 after leading at the 200 and Italian Luca Marin was third in 4:09.88.Phelps, who also won the 200 medley, 200 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 100 butterfly and two relays, became the first person to win seven gold medals at a single world championships, bettering the previous record of six set by Australia’s Ian Thorpe at Fukuoka, Japan in 2001.”I didn’t expect to be two seconds under my world record tonight,” said the 21-year-old from Michigan.”I knew this was going to be the hardest race.I was emotionally dead, almost physically dead and I had to step up.”I didn’t feel good this morning, didn’t feel good in warm-up so I tried to block it out and think about what I did in training and use it in the race.”Phelps had been bidding to win eight events and go one better than American Mark Spitz’s golden haul of seven at the 1972 Munich Olympics, but his chances were dashed when the US team were disqualified from the medley relay during yesterday morning heats.The US set the fastest time in the heats but were disqualified when Ian Crocker left the starting blocks too early at the second changeover.Phelps, who did not swim in the heats but would have taken part in the final had the Americans qualified, said it was a mistake they would get over.”Team USA goes into a meet as one, and that’s how we’re going to exit.Everything can’t go perfect so it’s all about how you adapt from these things and learn from your experiences.”It definitely wasn’t intentional.They all wanted to swim and they all wanted to get us into the finals tonight and that’s the goal but sometimes you slip and make a mistake.”Ian will battle back from that and next time when we have a relay like that we’ll remember this.”Nampa-Reuters