Phelps joins top Olympians as US get three of four golds (2nd Lead)

By Peter Auf der Heyde Aug 12, 2008, 3:26 GMT

Beijing - Michael Phelps joined the list of most successful Olympians as United States swimmers claimed three of the four swimming gold medals on offer on Tuesday at the Beijing Olympics.

Superstar Phelps and Aaron Peirsol broke their own world records in winning the men's 200m freestyle and the men's 100m backstroke respectively.

Natalie Coughlin added a third gold medal for the Americans in the women's 100m backstroke.

Australian Leisel Jones was the only one who could prevent a total American whitewash as she beat US swimmer Rebecca Soni to the gold in the women's 100m breaststroke.

Phelps, 23, won the 200m freestyle in 1 minute 42.96 seconds, beating South Korean Park Tae-Hwan (1:44.85) and American Peter Vanderkaay (1:45.14) into second place.

Phelps beat his own world record of 1:43.86 that he established at the world championships in Melbourne last year.

'I wanted to try and get out into open water and I was in the outside lane so it was kind of difficult for the others to see me. I just wanted to get out there and try to hold on. I knew Park was going to have a good last 50 metres, so I tried to start as far ahead as I could in the first 100m to 150m,' Phelps said.

Park had on Sunday won South Korea's first-ever Olympic gold medal in swimming when he took the men's 400m freestyle.

He paid a tribute to Phelps after the race. 'I was in really good shape, but Phelps swam so fast. It's really fast and it is my honour to compete against him.'

Vanderkaay was also satisfied with his performance. 'It means a lot to win my first individual medal and on a stage like this it is awesome.'

Phelps' third gold in the Water Cube saw him join the list of most successful Olympian athletes in Games history with nine gold medal overall. The others are Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi, US swimmer Mark Spitz and US athlete Carl Lewis.

Phelps needs just one more gold medal from five events to become the all-time record holder in gold medals at the Olympic Games. He also has two bronze medals from the Athens 2004 Games and is going for an unprecedented eight gold medals in Beijing.

In the women's 100m backstroke Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry was beaten by Coughlin, who clocked 58.96 seconds. Coventry was well below her world record 58.77 from Monday in the semi-final with 59.19 for silver. The bronze medal went to American Margaret Holzer who finished in a time of 59.34.

Coughlin, who was in tears as she received her gold medal, said that she could not believe she had won.

'It hasn't really sunk in yet. When I first saw the time I thought they had made a mistake. It was a very fast time. When I saw the one by my name I thought they had made a mistake. Then I saw my name there and I realised that I'd got it.'

In the men's 100m backstroke Peirsol broke the 10th world record as he won in a time of 52.54 seconds, beating the 52.89 he swam at the US trials in July.

The silver medal went to compatriot Matt Grevers with 53.11, while Russian Arkady Vyatchanin and Australian Hayden Stoeckel shared the bronze 0.07 seconds behind Grevers.

Jones looked on course to break her own world record of 1:05.09, but fell just short, winning in a time of 1:05.17. Soni finished in a time of 1:06.73, while Austrian Mirna Jukic had 1:07.34.

For Jones it was the first individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. She has a relay gold from Athens, as well as three silvers and one bronze to her credit.