World Championships Melbourne - Phelps rubbed Thorpe from the record book
FOUR months after Ian Thorpe retired from swimming, his prized 200m freestyle world record has followed him into history.
:: Smiling assassin & Phelps accepts congratulations from rivals ::
United States superstar Michael Phelps, 21 lost the chance to beat Thorpe on his home ground when the Australian departed the scene in November, so he had to be content with stripping his world record at the World Championships in Melbourne last night.
His time of 1min 43.86sec clipped 0.2sec from Thorpe's mark
Thorpe's retirement now appears to have been as perfectly timed as most of his career; he now holds only one long-course world record, in the 400m freestyle.
Men
200m freestyle final
1. Michael Phelps (US) 1min 43.86sec (world record) - gold medal
2. Pieter van den Hoogenband (Neth) 1min 46.28sec - silver medal
3. Park Tae Hwan (Kor) 1min 46.73sec bronze medal
:: Seventeen-year-old Park Tae Hwan also brought South Korea their first-ever world swimming championship title in the men’s 400 metres freestyle ::
Since February 4, 2006