Olympic superstar Michael Phelps posted his fastest 200m butterfly time since the London Games on Friday to top qualifying at the US swimming championships.

In a performance as smooth as his newly shaved chin, Phelps clocked 1min 55.15sec -- more than a second faster than Jack Conger, who finished second in the same heat in 1:56.19.

"It felt like a normal morning swim," said Phelps, who hadn't tapered his training or shaved for any earlier meetings this season. "It still feels really weird to swim without a beard."

Phelps's time would have made him the third-fastest qualifier in the event earlier this week at the world championships in Kazan, Russia.

The 18-time Olympic gold medallist was denied a trip to the worlds as part of the sanctions for his drunk-driving arrest last September, and he's made no secret of the fact that he's keeping his eye on the times posted there.

Going by that yardstick, he'll be aiming to better Hungarian Laszlo Cseh's world title-winning time of 1:53.48 in Friday night's final.

"That's a pretty tall order," cautioned Bob Bowman, although Phelps's longtime coach was confident the swimmer would improve.

"He'll definitely swim it more aggressively," Bowman said of what to expect from Phelps in the final. "He definitely can go better off that."

When he launched his comeback from a near two-year retirement in 2014 the 200m fly didn't appear to figure in Phelps's plans.

He owns the world record of 1:51.51, but it was set back in 2009.

Phelps has appeared to be warming to the idea of making the event -- the first he ever broke a world record in -- part of a 2016 Rio campaign.

He was denied a third straight Olympic 200m fly gold in London by South African Chad Le Clos, settling for silver in 1:53.01.

Although Phelps's return to the event got off to a rocky start this year -- when he failed to break two minutes in a seventh-placed finish at a meeting in Charlotte -- Bowman said the 30-year-old could be a factor by the time the Rio Games roll around.

"Is he good enough to, like, be competitive in that? For sure," Bowman said. "If he puts in a good year of training I would be very confident in that."

Bowman saw a couple of technical flaws that could be improved, mistakes that will diminish as Phelps races more.

Phelps himself said he was just happy to be in the pool, after watching the opening day of the meeting on Thursday from the sidelines.

"I got in early for my second warm up because I was excited to swim," Phelps said. "Maybe I'll be able to relax a little bit more tonight.

"I'd like to put up a good time, but we'll see what happens."
Source: AFP