Phelps finishes meet with 100-meter wins

Associated Press

February 20, 2007

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Michael Phelps capped a dominating three days at the Missouri Grand Prix last night with victories in the 100-meter butterfly and the 100 backstroke, and Katie Hoff added two victories.

Phelps, who finished the meet with five gold medals, finished a distant fourth in the 100 breaststroke behind a trio of specialists.

That is an event that Phelps, who won six gold medals and eight overall at the 2004 Olympics, never swims at international meets, but it is vital in medley races.

Kevin Swander led the field with a time of 1 minute, 1.75 seconds, more than two seconds ahead of Phelps, who set a personal best.

"We were all just messing around," he said. "It's the best time for me by like three seconds."

Phelps of Rodgers Forge handily won the 100-meter backstroke, touching the wall more than four seconds ahead of second-place finisher Fabio Santik. And on the meet's first day, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-meter butterfly -- the fifth time he has shattered that mark.

"I'm confident right now going into worlds," he said after the meet. "We're kind of ahead of schedule. It's time to really get down to business."

On the women's side, Natalie Coughlin topped the field with four wins at the three-day meet, including a victory last night in the 100- meter backstroke.

Hoff of Towson won two events. Hoff, who at 14 was the youngest American in the 2004 Athens Olympics, won the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:11.42. She topped second-place finisher Ariana Kukors by nearly six seconds. The win followed a victory by Hoff on Saturday in the 400-meter freestyle.

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Phelps finishes meet with 100-meter wins

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