-
Lochte: Backstroke gold
"I touched the wall and was like 'thank you, finally.' It felt good the whole way."
Ryan Lochte
Men's 200m backstroke final:
Gold: Ryan Lochte (US) 1:53.94 (WR)
Silver: Aaron Peirsol (US) 1:54.33
Bronze: Arkady Vyatchanin (Rus) 1:54.93
Also see
Ryan Lochte stepped out of the shadow of Michael Phelps to claim gold in the men's 200m backstroke.
He has so often played second fiddle to American team-mate Phelps this week but proved his worth to the American team when denying another compatriot, Aaron Peirsol, at the Water Cube.
Lochte finished in 1:53.94 to break the world record he and Peirsol had shared, while Russian Arkady Vyatchanin took bronze.
Vyatchanin pushed the pace from the start and led until the last length, when Lochte and Peirsol both surged past the tiring 24-year-old.
Britain's Gregor Tait, meanwhile, finished eighth, just outside his British record time with a swim of 1:57.00.
"I can't even put it into words. It's my first Olympic individual gold medal," said Lochte.
"I touched the wall and was like 'thank you, finally.' It felt good the whole way."
Lochte did not have long to celebrate his success as he went head-to-head with Phelps, finishing third and with it scooping bronze in the 200m individual medley final for his fourth medal in Beijing.
