So much for all the hoopla about high-tech swimsuits.
Michael Phelps, wearing only long pants instead of a full body suit, won the 200-meter butterfly at the world championships on Wednesday in a record time of 1:51.51. Phelps broke his own previous world record of 1:52.03, which he set at the Beijing Olympics, in the event that many consider to be his best.
"I've always done well in it," Phelps told ESPN.com. "I guess you can call it my bread and butter event."
Phelps' win comes one day after his upset loss to Paul Biedermann in the 200 freestyle. Following his first setback in a major individual swimming event in over four years, Phelps was determined to get back to his winning ways on Wednesday.
"I wanted to step on it in the first 100 to get out there in the clean water, and that's pretty much what happened," Phelps told ESPN. "It was a lot more pain last night than tonight."
Phelps' loss on Tuesday was a controversial one, as Biedermann was wearing a buoyancy-aiding suit that helped him set two world records in the course of three days. But Phelps simply used that as motivation, according to an anonymous source that works closely with the swimming superstar.
"I can tell you this: He swam that 200 meters pissed off," the source was quoted by ABCNews.com. "He was out [through the first 50 meters of the race] in 24.7 [seconds] … That is ridiculous. He never swims like that. He was out of control from the start."
