Double disappointment for sluggish Phelps

Olympic legend Michael Phelps failed to make the 200-meter freestyle final and had to settle for third in the 100m butterfly at a Pro Swim Series meet.

The 18-time gold medallist clocked 52.59 seconds in the 100m butterfly, behind runner-up Ryan Lochte (52.52) and winner Tom Shields (52.12). Phelps, who has his sights set on competing in a fifth Olympics in 2016 at Rio, holds the world record at 49.82.

The 29-year-old American missed out on the 200m final in Charlotte, North Carolina, after posting just the 14th fastest time in the preliminaries.

His 1:51.44 was more than eight seconds off his American record and Phelps had to console himself with a win in the 200m B final by clocking 1:49.12.

Phelps announced Thursday he was relocating to Tempe, Arizona to join his long-time coach Bob Bowman, who was recently hired as the swim coach at Arizona State University.

Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and retired after the 2012 London Olympics with a career record 22 Olympic medals, only to make a comeback last year.

But last September he was slapped with a six-month suspension by USA Swimming after a drink-driving arrest.
Source: AFP