JOIN US Back on the blocks for the first time since his record eight gold medal haul at the Beijing Olympics, Phelps won the 200-metre freestyle and 100M butterfly in meet record times.
Trading in his hi-tech LZR swimsuit for a throw-back model first introduced in 2004, Phelps was out of the blocks quick in the 200 and led from start to finish, touching first in one minute, 46.02 seconds.
While well off his world record time of 1:42.96 set in Beijing, the swim was still a remarkable effort.
A little more than 50 minutes later, the 23-year-old American was right back on the starting block, powering to the wall in 51.72, crushing a field that included five-time Olympic gold medallist Aaron Peirsol.
Phelps said his training was working well, despite waking up feeling ‘weird’ before the race and not knowing what to expect of his first hit-out in nine months. "I got in and I wasn't really feeling that great in warm up. I was thinking I would just go out there and swim as fast as I can," he told reporters.