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Golden double for Australia as Phelps flops
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-25 08:29 Grant Hackett led an Australian golden double as
the bubble burst for Michael Phelps on a dramatic opening day at the world
swimming championships on Sunday.
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| American swimmer Michael Phelps celebrates his team's gold medal
victory in the men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay at the World Swimming
Championships in Montreal July 24, 2005. The U.S. took gold with a time of
three minutes 13.77 seconds, with Canada taking silver and Australia
bronze.[Reuters] |
| Hackett cruised to victory in the 400 metres freestyle to become the first
swimmer to win gold medals at four world championships, as well as drawing first
blood in his personal duel with Phelps.
The American did strike gold in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay but his
failure to qualify for the 400m final torpedoed his ambition of winning eight
gold medals at a single championship, following his six victories in Athens last
year.
Australia won a second title on Sunday with victory in the women's 4x100m
freestyle final while French teenager Laure Manaudou won the women's 400m
freestyle to add the world title to the Olympic crown she captured in Athens.
South African sprinter Roland Schoeman set a world record in the semi-finals
of the men's 50m butterfly, stopping the clock at 23.01 seconds to wipe 0.29 off
the previous record established by American Ian Crocker in Austin last year.
Phelps had been expected to provide Hackett with stiffer opposition in the
400m after Ian Thorpe decided to skip the championships, but was left watching
the final from the stands after labouring home in 18th place in Sunday's morning
heats.
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