Michael Phelps finished second in his first race since capturing eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, a 200-meter freestyle heat on Friday at the Charlotte UltraSwim.
The 23-year-old American superstar who set the world 200 free record of 1min 42.96secs last year at Beijing, swam his 200 free morning preliminary heat in 1:50.46, trailing winner Darvis Tarwater by 0.35 of a second.
Phelps was the third-fastest qualifier among eight swimmers to reach Friday night's event final, also trailing Peter Vanderkaay's 1:50.26 effort to win the heat just before Phelps ended the longest competitive layoff of his career.
Making his first strokes toward the 2012 London Olympics, Phelps plans to swim later Friday in the 100 butterfly, then Saturday in the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke and Sunday in the 100 freestyle.
The meet is Phelps's first checkpoint in a training regimen on the way to the US and world championships in July.
Phelps won Beijing Olympic gold in the 100 and 200 butterfly, the 200 and 400 individual medley, the 200 freestyle and three relays but has shifted gears and goals for his next few years of training ahead of the London Olympics.
Phelps will work upon his sprint speed with goals of becoming the fastest man in the water, including a flatter stroke for the 50 and 100 freestyles that will be unveiled in competition for the first time this weekend.
French world record-holder Fred Bousquet is also entered in the 50 free, although whether he will swim head-to-head against Phelps in the no-turn event is uncertain because Phelps plans to swim only one final Saturday.
Bousquet, who set the 50 free world mark of 20.94 seconds last month in a controversial new hi-tech swimsuit, also will swim the 100 free and could face Phelps for a title in the meet's last race.
UltraSwim is the first meet for Phelps following a three-month USA Swimming ban for being photographed holding a bong.
The picture was published in a British newspaper in February and he admits the frenzy has caused him to be more guarded and wary of people.
Bob Bowman, Phelps's coach, has changed his prize pupil's training program to include a tougher weight room regimen with an emphasis on building top speed rather than endurance.
Phelps, who also won six golds at the 2004 Athens Olympics, already has set performance goals for the London Olympics but does not plan to reveal them before the 2012 Games.
