American teenager Michael Phelps set a new world record in the men's 200 metres butterfly final at the Swimming World Championships today. The 16-year-old finished in one minute 54.58 seconds to win gold from Olympic champion Tom Malchow at Marine Messe Fukuoka. "It feels great to win. There was so much adrenaline. I'm so happy, I don't know what to say," the 16-year-old said after lowering his own world record by 0.34 seconds to win America's third gold of the championships.
Phelps became the youngest American since 1932 to be selected for the Olympics at last year's Sydney Games at the age of just 15, finishing a creditable fifth in the 200 final. He really came to prominence when he broke Malchow's world record for the 200 metres butterfly at the US nationals in March, becoming the first swimmer to go under 1:55.00.
His US coaching staff believe that Phelps is set to dominate the 200 metres for years to come. "His potential is limitless, he's really quite amazing. He could be anything he wants to be," American men's coach Gregg Troy said before the start of the world championships.
However, Phelps insists that he will take things as they come. "I'm not thinking about Athens. That's still a long way away. I just want to take things step by step and continue to represent my country," he said.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
