Barcelona, July 27: Michael Phelps suffered his first individual defeat of the world swimming championships and lost a world record when he was beaten by fellow American Ian Crocker in the 100 metres butterfly. Phelps, who has broken four world records and won two titles this week, proved human after all when Crocker, leading all the way, shattered his one-day old world record with a time of 50.98 seconds in Barcelona on Saturday (July 26). Phelps touched in 51.10, also well inside his 51.47 world mark set in Friday's semi-finals, but it was only good enough for silver. Andriy Serdinov of Ukraine, who briefly held the world record on Friday, took bronze in 51.59. Alexander Popov, double world champion nine years ago, repeated the feat by winning the 50 metres freestyle. Popov, 31, swung through the one-length race in 21.92 seconds, breaking his own championship record to add the 50 crown to the 100 freestyle title he regained on Thursday. He is the only man to have won the race at the world championships in under 22 seconds. Britain's Mark Foster, world short-course champion in 1993 and at 33 the only man older than Popov in the race, grabbed the silver from the outside lane one in 22.20. Pieter van den Hoogenband, silver medallist in 2001, took the bronze in 22.29, a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of fellow Dutchman Johan Kenkhuis.



Germany's Hannah Stockbauer proved herself to be the best women's long-distance freestyle swimmer in the world when she won a thrilling race for the 800 metres title.


Stockbauer, 21, who had already won the 400 and 1500 metres titles at Barcelona, touched in eight minutes 23.66 seconds, breaking the 12-year-old championship record and pipping Diana Munz of the United States (8:24.19).


Britain's Rebecca Cooke took bronze in 8:28.45 after a storming final 50 metres in which she overtook Canadian teenager Brittany Reimer. Dutchwoman Inge de Bruijn retained her 50 metres butterfly title. De Bruijn, who won three Olympic titles in 2000 and three world titles in 2001, finished strongly to win in 25.84 seconds, beating the championship record 25.90 she set two years ago.


American Jenny Thompson, who regained the 100 butterfly title last Monday, took the silver in 26.00 to equal the record world championship medal aggregate of 13 achieved by Germany's Michael Gross and Australia's Ian Thorpe.


Sweden's Anna-Karin Kammerling, who set a world record 25.57 in winning the European title in Berlin last July, set the pace for much of the race but had to settle for her second consecutive world bronze in the event in 26.06.


Jenny Thompson won a record 14th world championship medal when she helped the United States take silver behind China in the women's 4x100 metres medley relay.


Luo Xuejuan gave China the lead on the breaststroke second leg of the relay and her team mates held off the U.S. challenge to win in a championship record three minutes 59.89, the second-fastest time ever.


Results of finals at the world swimming championships on Saturday : Men's 100 metres butterfly 1. Ian Crocker (U.S.) 50.98 seconds (world record) 2. Michael Phelps (U.S.) 51.10 3. Andriy Serdinov (Ukraine) 51.59 4. Igor Marchenko (Russia) 51.95 5. Thomas Rupprath (Germany) 51.98 6. Takashi Yamamoto (Japan) 52.27 7. Franck Esposito (France) 52.68 8. Evgueni Korotychkine (Russia) 53.00


Men's 50 metres freestyle 1. Alexander Popov (Russia) 21.92 2. Mark Foster (Britain) 22.20 3. Pieter Van Den Hoogenband (Netherlands) 22.29 4. Johan Kenkhuis (Netherlands) 22.30 5. Julien Sicot (France) 22.38 6. Olersandr Volynets (Ukraine) 22.40 7. Brett Hawke (Australia) 22.41 8. Jason Lezak (U.S.) 22.44


Women's 800 metres freestyle 1. Hannah Stockbauer (Germany) 8:23.66 2. Diana Munz (U.S.) 8:24.19 3. Rebecca Cooke (Britain) 8:28.45 4. Brittany Reimer (Canada) 8:28.73 5. Jana Henke (Germany) 8:30.12 6. Eva Risztov (Hungary) 8:35.70 7. Regina Sytch (Russia) 8:39.96 8. Hua Chen (China) 8:46.78


Women's 50 metres butterfly 1. Inge De Bruijn (Netherlands) 25.84 2. Jenny Thompson (U.S.) 26.00 3. Anna-Karin Kammerling (Sweden) 26.06 4. Yafei Zhou (China) 26.85 5. Chantal Groot (Netherlands) 26.92 6. Vered Borochovsky (Israel) 26.98 7. Nataliya Khudyakova (Ukraine) 27.10 8. Angela San Juan (Spain) 27.24


Women's 4 x 100 metres medley relay 1. China three minutes 59.89 seconds (Shu Zhan, Xuejuan Luo, Yafei Zhou, Yu Yang) 2. United States 4:00.83 (Natalie Coughlin, Amanda Beard, Jenny Thompson, Lindsay Benko) 3. Australia 4:01.37 (Giaan Rooney, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper, Jodie Henry) 4. Germany 4:02.01 5. Japan 4:06.25 6. Netherlands 4:07.73 7. Sweden 4:08.39 8. Britain 4:10.69


Women's 200 metres backstroke 1. Katy Sexton (Britain) 2:08.74 2. Margaret Hoelzer (U.S.) 2:09.24 3. Stanislava Komarova (Russia) 2:10.17 4. Iryna Amshennikova (Ukraine) 2:10.82 5. Hanae Ito (Japan) 2:10.95 6. Jennifer Fratesi (Canada) 2:12.53 7. Nicole Hetzer (Germany) 2:12.82 8. Sarah Price (Britain) 2:13.78


Bureau Report