Phelps regains sparkle as records tumble again

ROME,  (Reuters) – Michael Phelps retained his 200  metres butterfly world title and smashed his own world record yesterday to reassert his authority after a tough 24 hours.

The American lost his world record in Tuesday’s 200  freestyle final when he was beaten by Germany’s Paul Biedermann  but he burst back to form with an awesome display of power.

“I guess you’d call it my bread and butter event,” Phelps  told reporters after swimming one minute 51.51, bettering the  world record he has held since 2001 for the eighth time.

His achievement was all the more remarkable given he did it  wearing long pants rather than one of the soon-to-be banned  bodysuits which have contributed to a deluge of world records at  the Rome championships.

The performance-enhancing polyurethane swimsuits may be  causing controversy but they are also helping to thrill the  crowds.

China’s Zhang Lin prompted utter astonishment when he  knocked more than six seconds off the previous world record to  win the men’s 800 freestyle final.

Zhang, China’s first male world champion in long-course  swimming, beamed: “I felt a lot of pressure, I didn’t know how  to swim at this level but my coach told me you just have to do  your best.

“I didn’t have any strategy. I just tried to swim as fast as  I could. I didn’t think I’d swim 16 seconds faster (than in  qualifying).”

Greatest  Athlete

The fans at the Foro Italico were less surprised when home  favourite Federica Pellegrini stormed to victory in the 200  freestyle final, shattering the world record she had already  broken in Tuesday’s semi-finals.
She clocked 1:52:98 to chalk up a freestyle double having  triumphed in the 400 on Sunday.
Asked if she was Italy’s greatest athlete, she replied: “I  think so.”

Despite 15 world records falling in the first three days of  competition, yesterday’s action in the open-air pool was even  more mesmerising.

American Mary Descenza was stunned to break the world record  in the women’s 200 butterfly heats.
German Daniela Samulski then set a world best time in the 50  backstroke semis only for Russia’s Anastasia Zueva to better it  immediately in the second semi.

Zueva, now favourite for today’s final, had also smashed  the 100 backstroke world record earlier in the week before that  mark was beaten.

Records were flying left, right and centre with swimmers who  failed to tax the timekeepers beginning to look ordinary.
South African Cameron van der Burgh made sure he did not  miss out on the party by battering his own world record to take  gold in the men’s 50 breaststroke, having set the previous best  mark in Tuesday’s semi-finals.

Defending champion Filippo Magnini was dumped out in the 100  freestyle semis and will watch today’s final from the  sidelines when France’s Olympic champion Alain Bernard, quickest  in qualifying, will go off as favourite in an intriguing race.