Michael Phelps set an unprecedented fifth world record at the World Swimming Championships on Sunday to claim his third title with victory in the men’s 400 metres individual medley. Phelps, surpassing Mark Spitz who set four world records on his way to seven golds at the 1972 Munich Olympics, bounced back from Saturday’s shock defeat in the 100 butterfly to race away with the 400 medley in four minutes 09.09 seconds. That sliced over 1-1/2 seconds from the 4:10.73 world mark he set in Indianapolis in April this year. The 18-year-old American was chased home by 17-year-old Laszlo Cseh of Hungary, the fastest man in the morning’s heats, who clocked 4:10.79 in the final, himself only 0.06 seconds outside Phelps’s old mark. Oussama Mellouli brought Tunisia the bronze in 4:15.36. Phelps had won the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley earlier in the championships and picked up silvers in the 100 butterfly and 4x200 freestyle relay. His world records comprised one in the 200 butterfly, two in the 200 individual medley, one in the 100 butterfly before his shock defeat by fellow American Ian Crocker, and one in the 400 individual medley. Ukraine’s Yana Klochkova won the women’s 400 metres individual medley gold medal. Hungary’s Eva Risztov took silver and Romania’s Beatrice Caslaru the bronze. Olympic champion Grant Hackett achieved a rare treble when he won the men’s 1500 metres freestyle world title on Sunday for the third time in succession. Hackett won in 14 minutes 43.14 seconds to match fellow Australian Ian Thorpe, who last Sunday became the first swimmer to win the same event at three consecutive world championships in the 400 freestyle. Olympic champion inge de Bruijn sprinted away with her second gold medal of the championships when she added the 50 freestyle title to the 50 butterfly crown she retained on the previous day. China’s Luo Xuejuan completed her second successive golden breaststroke double on Sunday when she added the 50 breaststroke to the 100 title she retained last Tuesday. Germany’s Thomas Rupprath broke the four-year-old world record for the men’s 50 metres backstroke at the world swimming championships on Sunday. Rupprath clocked 24.80 seconds to better the 24.99 set by Lenny Krayzelburg of the United States in August, 1999. He finished just ahead of Australia’s 50 butterfly champion Matt Welsh (25.01) and South Africa’s Gerhard Zandberg (25.07). (Reuters)
