Olympics: Phelps Wins Gold No6 As Records Tumble

Michael Phelps broke his own world record on the way to his sixth gold medal of the Beijing Olympics. His mark of 1min 54.23sec in the 200m individual medley was the 21st new record to be set in the National Aquatics Center, and gave Phelps his eighth individual Olympic gold, and 12th in total.

Phelps never looked in trouble, although, after a week in which victory has become routine for the Baltimore Bullet, his celebrations were somewhat muted. Hungary's Laszlo Cseh picked up his third silver of the Games, with Ryan Lochte of the US in third. James Goddard and Liam Tancock of Team GB finished sixth and eighth respectively.

Phelps' success capped another golden day in the pool for the US. Lochte also lowered his own record with a swim of 1min 53.94sec to win the men's 200m backstroke, ahead of compatriot Aaron Piersol, the defending champion. Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia, who set off at a blistering pace, took bronze, while Britain's Gregor Tait finished eighth.

And in the women's 200m breaststroke, the American Rebecca Soni upset Australia's Leisel Jones to win gold in a new world record time. Soni finished in 2min 20.22sec, shaving three tenths of a second off the previous best, set by Jones in 2006. Norway's Sara Nordenstam collected bronze.