Phelps Smashes World Record on His Way to Gold

Michael Phelps successfully completed the first leg in his quest for eight gold medals at this Olympics when he won the 400m individual medley.

The American is seeking to go one better than Mark Spitz's haul of seven golds in Munich in 1972 and he ground his countryman Ryan Lochte down in the first three disciplines before blowing him away in the freestyle on his way to a new world record of 4.03.84. It smashed his own previous world record by nearly two seconds.

Lochte, who claimed the bronze medal, led for a short period during the backstroke while the Hungarian, Laszlo Cseh, the eventual runner-up, also enjoyed a brief period in the lead during the opening 100m butterfly. But neither could live with the 23-year-old Phelps at the Water Cube aquatic center.