Katie Hoff matched her former North Baltimore teammate in the 400 IM, taking down the women's mark in 4:31.12. Wearing the high-tech Speedo LZR Racer, Phelps beat his own mark of 4:06.22, set at last year's world championships in Australia when he turned in one of the greatest performances in swimming history with seven gold medals.
After saying he had no fear of Phelps, Lochte proved it by also going under the previous record. But his time of 4:06.08 was only good enough for second with Phelps in the next lane over.
"That was probably one of the most painful races of my life," the winner said. "Everything was left in the pool. I definitely would not have been able to do it without Lochte beside me. He's a great friend and a great competitor. I love racing him."
The 19-year-old Hoff -- playfully described by Phelps as the little sister he never had -- showed no signs of the nervousness that ruined her first trip to the Olympics four years ago. The youngest member of the U.S. team, she was overcome by the moment and threw up on deck after failing to advance from her first event.
All grown up, Hoff dipped under record pace on the breaststroke leg and held on with her freestyle to beat Stephanie Rice's mark of 4:31.46, set in March at the Australian Olympic trials.
"Stephanie really raised the bar when she broke my old record," Hoff said. "I'm just excited for Beijing, and I think it's going to be a really tough challenging race with her."
Like Phelps, Hoff also was wearing the revolutionary Speedo suit, which has been worn for 40 of the 44 world marks set since it was unveiled in mid-February.
"It definitely gave me a few tenths," Phelps said. "At the end, when I was getting a little tired, the suit gave me a little extra edge."
Larsen Jensen, also wearing the LZR, set an American mark in the 400 freestyle in a three-way race to the wall with previous record holder Peter Vanderkaay and Erik Vendt.
Jensen's time of 3:43.53 topped Vanderkaay's mark of 3:43.82, which was set last month in California. Vanderkaay also went lower, touching second in 3:43.73.
Brendan Hansen just missed another world record in the 100 breaststroke semifinals, advancing to Monday's final in 59.24. He holds the mark of 59.13, and nodded his head confidently when he looked toward the scoreboard.
Christine Magnuson was top qualifier in the semis of the 100 fly in 57.50 less than a second off Inge de Bruijn's 8-year-old world record.
Phelps was slightly off world-record pace after the opening butterfly, but he had a body-length lead on Lochte as they switched to the backstroke.
The minus sign indicative of a swimmer under record pace flashed on the board when Phelps made his flip turn on the back, sending the crowd at the Qwest Center into a frenzy. But Lochte was starting to close the gap, and he nearly pulled even as they headed toward the far wall in the breaststroke.
Lochte, a world record holder himself, was less than a second behind at the 300 mark and looked poised to pull off a monumental upset. He and Phelps went at it stroke for stroke over the final two laps, but Phelps never relinquished his lead.
After his arm touched the wall ahead of Lochte's, Phelps looked at the scoreboard, saw the record and thrust his right fist in the air. Then he slapped the water.
Lochte, breathing heavily, grinned as Phelps celebrated. They hugged in the water, and then again on deck while the fans saluted them both with a standing ovation.
"He looked great, and what an epic swim," said Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman. "One of the best swims I've ever seen."
Phelps won six gold medals and two bronzes at the Athens Olympics, just missing Spitz's record of seven wins at the 1972 Munich Games. Phelps who turns 23 on Monday is determined to knock off the mark in Beijing.
Lochte was the top qualifier in the morning prelims.
Who Is Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps III (born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American swimmer who holds World Records in several events. Phelps' achievements include
eight medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, six of which were gold, tying the record for medals at a single Olympics, held by Alexander Dityatin since 1980.[5] Phelps's international titles, along with his various world records, have resulted in his being named World Swimmer of the Year four times — in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. His stroke s are butterfly, individual medley, freestyle, backstroke.Personal Life
Phelps grew up in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from Towson High School in 2003. His father, Fred Phelps, worked with the Maryland State Police and his mother, Debbie Davisson Phelps, is a middle school principal. The two divorced in 1994. Michael has two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary. Both of them were swimmers as well, with Whitney coming close to making the U.S. Team for the 1996 Summer Olympics before injuries derailed her career.
In his youth, Michael was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He started swimming at age seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his restless energy. He blossomed quickly as a swimmer, and by the age of 10 held a national record for his age group. More age group records followed, and Michael's rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15.
In November 2004, Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury, Maryland. He pleaded guilty to driving while impaired the following month and was granted probation before judgment and ordered to serve 18 months probation, fined $250, obligated to speak against drinking and driving to high school students, and had to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) meeting.
Between 2004–2008, Phelps attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, studying sports marketing and management. In May 2008, Phelps said he intends to return to Baltimore following the 2008 Olympics, joining Bob Bowman there when he leaves the University of Michigan, saying, "I'm not going to swim for anybody else. I think we can both help the North Baltimore Athletic Club go further. I'm definitely going to be in Baltimore next year." The club has announced that Bowman is leaving the University of Michigan to become the club's CEO.
Who Is Kathryn Hoff
Kathryn ("Katie") Hoff (born June 3, 1989 in Stanford, California) is an American swimmer.
Competitive Career
She trained with Michael Phelps in Baltimore, at North Baltimore Aquatic Club, and is currently trained by Paul Yetter. She holds the American record in the 200 meter individual medley at 2:10.05. She is a strong contender for the 2008 Olympic Games in multiple events. She is best at the 200 and 400 individual medley, though Katie is a very capable swimmer in many events, ranging from any of the four 200s to the
800 free. Katie lost the world record in the 400 meter individual medley to Stephanie Rice in March 2008. However, Hoff reclaimed the world record at the 2008 Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska with a time of 4:31.12.She qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics, but had a rather disappointing showing in her first Games, placing 7th overall in the Women's 200 metre individual medley and 17th in the 400 metre medley.
At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, she set a Championships Record for her time of 2:10.41 in the women's 200m individual medley. She received two more gold medals at the competition, one in the 400m medley and the other for the 4x200m freestyle, with teammates Natalie Coughlin, Whitney Myers, and Kaitlin Sandeno.
She retained her 200m individual medley title by winning at the 2007 World Championships setting a new championship record of 2:10.13. She also won gold and set a new world record in the 400m IM, eclipsing Yana Klochkova's the old mark of 4:33.59, with a new standard of 4:32.89. This record was lost to Stephanie Rice on 22 March 2008 at the 2008 Australian Swimming Championships who swam a 4:31.46 shaving 1.43 seconds off Hoff's time. Hoff's previous experience helped her use her "veteran" status to help the most experienced member of the US team, Natalie Coughlin, prepare for their world-record-setting pace in the 4 x 200 m Freestyle Relay at the 2007 FINA World Swimming Championships.
Hoff was born in Stanford, California and lives in Towson, Maryland. Her mother, Jeanne Ruark Hoff, played basketball for Stanford University from 1979 to 1983.
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