“I wasn’t comfortable after the first 200, seeing everybody so close together,” he said.

“It’s usually not how it is after the first 200. I think it made my breaststroke a lot stronger. And at that point, coming home in the freestyle, it’s all adrenaline.” Said Cseh: "Any time you think you can get close to Michael Phelps, he jumps to another level."

For the hype about Phelps versus Lochte, there’s one problem: Lochte has yet to beat him in a 400 individual medley final. This one was over after Lochte extended himself in the backstroke. “I went out too fast. I knew I had to go out fast in order to be in the race,” Lochte said. “If I had gone a couple of tenths slower on the backstroke, I would have had a better shot. I did my best. I can’t ask for anything else.”

In the final event of the morning program, the American women placed second in the 400 freestyle relay, in 3:34.33, behind the gold medalists, the Netherlands.

Subdued entry into semi-finals

WORLD champion Michael Phelps followed up his golden start to the Olympics on Sunday by easing into the men’s 200 metres freestyle semi-finals without fanfare.

Back in the pool only hours after winning the 400 individual medley in world record time, the 23-year-old American finished second in his heat to Switzerland’s Dominik Meichtry and fourth overall. Phelps had no need to stretch himself and his time of 1:46.48 was almost pedestrian compared to the world record of 1.43.86 he set in Melbourne last year and Meichtry’s 1:45.80.

... contd.