 Washington: Ryan Lochte edged out Michael Phelps in the men`s 400m individual medley at the US Olympic swimming trials.
Lochte took the lead on the breaststroke leg of the four-stroke event and held off Phelps in the closing freestyle to win in four minutes 7.06 seconds Monday, reports said.
Phelps was second in 4:07.89, securing an Olympic berth. Tyler Clary, runner-up of the event at Shanghai worlds last year behind Lochte, was the odd man out, finishing third in 4:09.92. Only the top two finishes in each event in the eight-day meet make the Olympic team.
After making the 400m medley one of his eight triumphs in Beijing, Phelps had vowed he wouldn`t swim it again in major international competition.
"There was a lot of discussion about me doing it," Phelps said. "The thing it came down to, I wanted to do it. This is an event I`ve done for a long time and I want to finish off my career doing it."
IANS
First Published: Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 19:02
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