Phelps beaten by Lochte in medley

Monday, 30 July 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ryan Lochte deposed Michael Phelps as the Olympic 400 metres individual medley champion as he secured a dominant victory at the Aquatics Centre.

Phelps’ London Olympics got off to a surprisingly underwhelming start as the eight-time Beijing gold medallist could only manage fourth in the 400 metres individual medley on Saturday night. The American was blown away by compatriot Ryan Lochte, who cruised to victory in four minutes, 05.18 seconds, followed in by Brazil’s Thiago Pereira and Japanese 17-year-old Kosuke Hagino.

Phelps said: “I’m a bit frustrated, I’m not feeling that great. I just want to put this race behind me and move on. “It’s not the start that I would have liked to have had but I’ve just got to move up.

“I was lucky to get in (to the final). The lane draw had nothing to do with me coming in fourth place, it was just a crappy race. “I have a bunch of other races and hopefully we can finish a lot better than we started. That’s what I’m going to try to do.”

Brazil’s Thiago Pereira was second with Japanese 17-year-old Kosuke Hagino third, just a year after taking bronze at the World Junior Championships.