A Determined Phelps Rebounds With Rout

He Breaks His Record in 200 Butterfly

ROME, July 29 -- Michael Phelps received a text message from a longtime friend, a golfing buddy in Baltimore, Tuesday night after he was resoundingly beaten in the 200-meter freestyle at the swimming world championships. The message said, simply: "I know you hate getting second. If you want to let your emotions out, just give me a call."

Phelps called his friend. He spewed his frustration. And then that was that. He went to bed, got the best night of sleep he's had since he arrived here, and woke up Wednesday with a whole new view of the world.

That view got even better Wednesday night.

When Phelps spun and locked his eyes on the scoreboard at the end of the 200-meter butterfly final, he learned he had not only defended his world title in the event but broke the world record he set at last year's Summer Games, finishing in 1 minute 51.51 seconds.

It was the eighth time he had broken the record since he first claimed it on March 30, 2001. It surpassed the 1:52.03 he swam last year in Beijing after his goggles filled with water, and it left second-place finisher Pawel Korzeniowski of Poland 1.72 seconds behind.

"That's about what I wanted to go a year ago," Phelps said. "To be able to go that without six months of training [after Beijing], that shows me there's more in the tank."

Phelps waggled his index finger and even punched a fist at the crowd. These world championships have been filled with drama and controversy over speedsuits and a storm of world records. Six more fell Wednesday, bringing the total to a mind-boggling 21. But the 200 butterfly final felt like a return to normalcy.

Phelps, wearing his seemingly antiquated Speedo LZR suit, which only covered his legs, still dominated like the old days.

"That was the first event I made the Olympic team in, in 2000," said Phelps, 24. "I've had fairly good success over the last eight years in that race. That's kind of been, I guess you could call it, my bread-and-butter event."

From the start, the question wasn't whether Phelps would win. By the time he made his first turn, he was well out in front and under world-record pace.

"I wanted to step on it real hard in the first 100 meters," Phelps said, "get out there in clear water."

American Tyler Clary, who finished fifth in 1:54.45, nearly three seconds behind Phelps, got the feeling something special might happen when he glanced at Phelps as the eight finalists were about to be summoned to the pool deck.