Olympics: Phelps' Record Start

Michael Phelps coolly launched his bid for Olympic immortality by breaking his own Games record for the 400m individual medley in the opening day heats at the Water Cube aquatic center.

The American, seeking to eclipse Mark Spitz's haul of seven gold medals set at Munich in 1972, recorded a time of 4min 7.82sec to qualify fastest for this morning's showdown with his compatriot Ryan Lochte. He admitted that he had been determined to send a message of intent to his rivals from the outset. 'I wanted to be in the middle of the pool for the final because that's going to give me an advantage,' said the 23-year-old.

There are a potential 19 further races still to go for Phelps to edge past Spitz's record. All that remains now is to prove his fast start was not a premature splash in the pan.