COLLEGE PARK,(Maryland), Aug 10: Michael Phelps of the United States broke his own world record in the 200 metre individual medley here on Saturday, winning in 1 minute, 55.94 seconds at the US Swim Championships.

In his 23rd race over 19 days, the 18-year-old from nearby Baltimore lowered the old mark of 1:56.04 that he set July 25 at the World Championships in Barcelona, where Phelps smashed an unprecedented five world records.

“Wow. That’s all I can say,” Phelps said. “I shocked myself for sure.” It was the fourth time since June 29 that Phelps has broken the 200 IM world record, which until six weeks ago was 1:58.16 by Finland’s Jani Sievinen at Rome in 1994.

Phelps reached the halfway mark in 54.03 seconds, .30 of a second under his old world-record split.

Phelps does not plan another competitive swim until November in a World Cup event at Melbourne, Australia. But his fantastic finish here will help bring him back into the pool to resume training next week after a brief break.

The victory also made Phelps the first man to capture five individual titles at a US long-course meet. All of them came in personal bests. Phelps also won the 100, 200 and 400 freestyles and 200 backstroke here.— AFP