Phelps shows who's the boss

American ace wrests back world record to claim gold in 100M butterfly

The American swam 49.82 seconds to knock previous record holder Milorad Cavic of Serbia into second. Spain's Rafael Munoz was third.

"I heard the crowd getting louder and louder and I figured it was going to come down to the touch again," the Olympic champion told reporters after flexing his arms in celebration in an unusual display of emotion.  "As you could tell I was extremely ecstatic."

Phelps was trailing in fourth place after 50M with Cavic, who set a mark of 50.01 in the semifinals, leading the way but he kept his cool and charged home in the finish.

"He showed speed he's never had before," US coach and Phelps' personal coach Bob Bowman told reporters. "It was perfectly done."

Phelps's fourth gold of the meet and his 21st overall in World Championships was sweet after he had a rare taste of defeat when he lost his individual 200 freestyle world title to Germany's Paul Biedermann on Tuesday.  He has also won golds in the 200 butterfly, the 4x100 freestyle relay and the 4x200 freestyle relay over the past week in Rome, where he arrived with a scaled-back programme of races.

Bowman said Phelps would now go back to racing the 200 individual medley, after not entering that event in Rome, and seek to make sure he is ready for Biedermann next time. “We'll go back to the 200 IM, his best event, we'll get his freestyle where it should be and maybe some backstroke," he said.

Brazil's Cesar Cielo Filho triumphed in the men's 50 metres freestyle final to underline his superiority in the sprints. Filho, who also took the 100 title on Thursday when he smashed the 47-second barrier with a world record, struck gold in 21.08.

"I was expecting faster times. I'm very happy and very satisfied. I think the 100 took something out of me but I haven't reached my peak yet," he said.

France's world record holder Frederick Bousquet was second with compatriot Amaury Leveaux third.  Leveaux heard during the championships that his father had died. "The last few days were not easy," he said before the race. "I didn't know if I should stay or leave. I decided to stay for my family."

Reuters

Men: 50M freestyle: Cesar Cielo Filho (Brazil) 21.08 seconds, 1; Frederick Bousquet (France) 21.21, 2; Amaury Leveaux (France) 21.25, 3. 100M butterfly: Michael Phelps (US) 49.82 secs (world record), 1; Milorad Cavic (Serbia) 49.95, 2; Rafael Munoz (Spain) 50.41, 3.

Women: 800M freestyle: Lotte Friis (Denmark) 8:15.92, 1; Joanne Jackson (Britain) 8:16.66, 2; Alessia Filippi (Italy) 8:17.21, 3. 50M butterfly: Marieke Guehrer (Australia) 25.48 seconds, 1; Zhou Yafei (China) 25.57, 2; Ingvild Snildal (Norway) 25.58, 3.
200M backstroke: Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe) 2:04.81 (world record), 1; Anastasia Zueva (Russia) 2:04.94, 2; Elizabeth Beisel (US) 2:06.39, 3.

4x100M medley relay: China 3:52.19 (world record), 1; Australia 3:52.58, 2; Germany 3:55.79, 3.