Swimming: Thorpe gets the better of Dutch rival again

BARCELONA - Australian Ian Thorpe underlined his status as the world's greatest swimmer when he defended his men's 200m freestyle title at the world championships in Barcelona yesterday.

And it was at the expense of Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband.

But Thorpe now has another challenger in American teenager Michael Phelps, who later came out and set a world record in the 200m butterfly semifinals.

The 18-year-old from Baltimore clocked 1m 53.93s to better the previous mark of 1m 54.58s which he set on his way to gold in the event two years ago in Fukuoka, Japan.

Phelps is one of Thorpe's major rivals after improving his 400m medley mark, and shattering the long-standing 200m medley world record. The duo are set for a tantalising showdown in the latter race at the weekend.

But the 20-year-old "Thorpedo" showed that he was ready for his challengers when he claimed his 10th world gold at the expense of van den Hoogenband.

Thorpe, the world recordholder over the distance, clocked 1m 45.14s to push the Dutchman into second place in 1m 46.43s, with Australian Grant Hackett taking bronze in 1m 46.85s.

Van den Hoogenband, 25, had been bidding to claim the title after being runner-up at the last world championships where Thorpe set a world record. The Dutchman had beaten him at the Sydney Olympics.

"It was an average time, but I'm very happy with the result," said Thorpe, who wants to equal his six gold medals at the last world championships.

Thorpe already has more world titles than any swimmer, and has not been beaten in an individual world championships event since he became swimming's youngest world champion at 15 when he won the 400m freestyle in Perth.

He became the first swimmer to win three consecutive titles in the same event when he captured gold in the 400m on Monday.

But his Australian team-mates Matthew Welsh and Leisel Jones were not so fortunate.

Welsh lost his 100m backstroke crown to Aaron Peirsol, of the United States.

Peirsol, 20, the world champion and recordholder in the 200m backstroke, clocked 53.61s to push Welsh into joint silver with Russia's Arkady Vyatchanin after both recorded 53.92s.

Welsh had surprised by winning the 50m fly on Tuesday in a world record time.

Earlier, Luo Xuejuan, of China, became the first woman to retain the 100m breaststroke title. "I felt under pressure but I was confident I could win. Confidence is the most important thing," the 19-year-old said.

She clocked 1m 06.80s to head off Amanda Beard, of the United States, in 1m 07.42s, with Jones having to settle for bronze in 1m 07.47s.

Jones set a world record of 1m 06.37s in the semifinals and the 17-year-old had been bidding for her first world title after being runner-up at the last world championships and the Olympics.

Hannah Stockbauer, meanwhile, retained her 1500m title, and fellow German Antje Buschschulte won the women's 100m backstroke.

It was the fourth world gold for the 21-year-old Stockbauer, who also took the 400m freestyle title last weekend.

In the 100m backstroke, Buschschulte finished in 1m 00.50s, with Louise Ornstedt, of Denmark, and Britain's Katy Sexton sharing silver in 1m 00.86s.

* Helen Norfolk was a fingertip away from a spot in the semifinals of the 200m freestyle.

The Christchurch swimmer, who moved to North Shore's Millennium Institute this year, swam a personal best time, but it wasn't quite enough.

Built into the schedule as a loosening swim to her key 400m individual medley later in the programme, Norfolk finished just 0.24s from qualifying for the semifinals with the 18th-fastest time.

Norfolk produced a well-planned race, turning in 1m 00.21s and coming home with two even 31s splits. Her 2m 02.21s was 0.44s inside her previous best.

Top freestyler Alison Fitch, attempting to become the first New Zealander under the two-minute barrier, faded over the final 100m to finish in 2m 03.17s and 29th fastest.

Fitch, in some of the best form of her lengthy career, went for the jugular in her heat, going through the 100m in a hot 58.92s, the sixth-quickest of the day. However, she could not hold that pace.

She went to the championships not only to secure a semifinal spot, but to expunge the oldest record in the New Zealand books, which is the 2m 00.60s mark set by Rebecca Perrott in the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton.

She may get one more chance if picked as the lead-off swimmer in today's women's 4x200m freestyle relay.

North Shore clubmate Dean Kent completed his preparations for his key individual medley races today and Sunday with a solid 2m 02.66s in the 200m butterfly for 34th place out of 62 swimmers.

Action overnight for New Zealand focused on Hannah McLean in the 50m backstroke and Liz Van Welie in the 200m butterfly, while Cameron Gibson swam the 100m freestyle.

- NZPA