Results from men's 400m medley
final
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Michael Phelps of the United States reacts during the awarding ceremony of the men’s 400m individual medley at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube in Beijing, China, Aug. 10, 2008. Phelps set a new world record and won the gold medal in the event with 4 minutes 3.84 seconds. (Xinhua/Fan Jun) (Xinhua Photo)
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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. swimmer Michael
Phelps Sunday defended his Olympic title in the men's 400 meters individual
medley with a new world record.
Phelps stormed to touch the wall first with a time of
four minutes 3.84 seconds, shaving 1.41 seconds off his own world record set at
the Olympic swimming trials in July.
Hungarian Laszlo Cseh won silver in 4:06.16. Phelps's
teammate, Ryan Lochte, who is seen as a consistent silver medalist in his
competition against Phelps, was edged to the third place.
"It's a tough race the whole way through. That's a
pretty emotional race," Phelps said after the race. "It wasn't comfortable in a
close race the first 200 meters, but my breaststroke is stronger."
Phelps, known as the "Baltimore Bullet," is expected
to break Mark Spitz's record of seven golds at a single Summer Games. At the
2007 World Championships in Melbourne, he became the only swimmer to set five
world records at one international event.
U.S. President George W. Bush was present at the
Water Cube, cheering up for the American swimmers.
Donning a sky blue blouse, Bush watched intently at
the race. He stood up in cheers when Phelps started his charge with the
freestyle, waving an American national flag.
Bush's presence obviously cheered Phelps up. "To have
president coming watch is pretty cool. I looked up and saw him wave the flag.
That's pretty cool to have the president say congratulations," Phelps said.
"I tried to find my Mom but I couldn't find her. It's an exciting time, Especially remembering what's happened this year," he said.
The 23-year-old still have seven more finals waiting. "Eat, sleep and swim. That's all I can do. Get some calories into my system and try to recover the best I can," he said of the upcoming challenges.
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Michael Phelps of America celebrates victory after the men's 400m individual medley final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China, August 10, 2008. Michael Phelps won in a world record time of 4:03.84. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)
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