Michael Phelps Loses Again As Ryan Lochte Sets World Record In 200 IM At 2011 World Championships

Michael Phelps is without a doubt the most famous American swimmer, but USA teammate Ryan Lochte is doing his best to take a bit of that glory at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai.

Lochte and Phelps each had one gold medal from this year’s swimming championships heading into Thursday’s 200-meter individual medley, but it was Lochte who regained the lead while setting a new world record by finishing in 1 minute 54.00 seconds to narrowly defeat Phelps. Phelps finished with a time of 1:54.16, a new personal record, but not quite fast enough to take down his new nemesis.

Michael Phelps didn’t get off to the greatest start at the 2011 World Championships as he took second place behind Ryan Lochte in the 200 meter freestyle Tuesday morning. Phelps recovered quite nicely in the 200 meter butterfly on Wednesday, however, winning his first gold medal in what the swimmer considers his favorite event.

Phelps finished the 200 meter swim in one minute and 53.34 seconds to take home his third consecutive world championship in the event, defeating Japan’s Takeshi Matsuda and China’s Wu Peng by more than one-half second to put the American swimmer back on track in Shanghai.

Ryan Lochte may not yet be a household name, but if he keeps beating Olympic superstar Michael Phelps like this, he just might be. The 26-year-old American swimmer scored another impressive victory over his rival, beating Phelps in the 200-meter freestyle at the world championships on Tuesday in Shanghai.

Lochte clocked in at 1 minute, 44.44 seconds, just ahead of Phelps who registered 1:44.79 and came in second. Phelps had led through the first two turns, at 50 and 100 meters, before Lochte caught him. Lochte had also beaten Phelps in this event during the 2009 worlds in Rome, in the 200 individual medley and backstrokes at lat year’s U.S. championships and won six golds to Phelps’ five at the Pan Pacific Championships in 2010.