Michael Phelps eased his world championships heartache with a convincing 100m butterfly win yesterday, as US teenager Missy Franklin wrote her name in lights by snatching two gold medals.
Drug-row Brazilian Cesar Cielo earned his second sprint title of the meet, while Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington broke the UK’s gold medal duck with a last-gasp win in the women’s 800m.
Phelps, the defending champion, world record-holder and Olympic gold medalist, was third halfway in the 100m butterfly, but he swept through the field to win in 50.71 seconds, ahead of Poland’s Konrad Czerniak and American Tyler McGill.
Photo: AFP
With nemesis Ryan Lochte watching from the stands, Phelps extended his record number of world titles to 25, including three in Shanghai, alongside two silver medals and one bronze.
Phelps returned to China looking for a possible seven golds, to follow his eight from the 2008 Olympics, but he was beaten by Lochte in the 200m freestyle and again in 200m individual medley, where his teammate set a world record.
Phelps now faces the challenge of returning to peak condition for his swansong at next year’s London Olympics, after acknowledging he has neglected training and spent too much time playing golf following the Beijing Games.
Also yesterday, the US enjoyed yet more success through the 16-year-old Franklin, nicknamed “Missile,” who claimed her second individual title and then anchored the US’ 4x100m medley victory.
Franklin, one of the stars of Shanghai, was never behind in the 200m backstroke and she won it convincingly in 2 minutes, 5.10 seconds ahead of Australia’s Belinda Hocking and Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands.
And the teenager was reliable again in the medley, as the US held off hosts China and Australia to claim their first world title in the event in 10 years.
Meanwhile, Dutch swimmer Inge Dekker upset a field including the world record-holder and defending champion to win the women’s 50m butterfly and claim her first individual world title.
Dekker timed 25.71 seconds ahead of Therese Alshammar of Sweden, with France’s Melanie Henique taking bronze and 2009 winner Marieke Guehrer dead last.
In the women’s 800m, the UK’s Adlington timed her final burst to perfection as she overtook front-runner Lotte Friis in the closing stages to win it in 8 minutesm 17.51 seconds, with the US’ Kate Ziegler third.
Earlier, the controversial Cielo successfully defended his 50m freestyle world title as the sport’s chiefs criticized doping rules after a case involving the Brazilian.
The Olympic champion and world record-holder’s victory never looked in doubt as he surged down the Sea Crown stadium pool to touch in 21.52 seconds ahead of Italy’s Luca Dotto and French swimmer Alain Bernard.
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