German Biedermann hands Phelps first major loss in 4 years at world swimming

ROME - The winner draped himself triumphantly on the lane rope, thrusting his right hand in the air to celebrate a world record.

It's a familiar scene for Michael Phelps. This time, all he could do was watch.

Germany's Paul Biedermann handed Phelps his first major individual loss in four years - and snatched his world record, too - with a stunning win in the 200-metre freestyle at the world swimming championships on Tuesday.

Virtually unknown outside his country before this meet, Biedermann has now erased Ian Thorpe from the record book with a win in the 400 free and knocked off the winningest Olympian in history - all in the space of three days.

"I'm not pleased," Phelps said, acknowledging he wasn't in the best shape after taking six months off to revel in his great haul of China.

But Biedermann's performance stirred up even more debate about the high-tech bodysuits that will be banned by the sport's governing body beginning in 2010. Biedermann wore an Arena X-Glide, one of those polyurethane suits that is considered faster than the Speedo LZR Racer, the once-revolutionary suit Phelps wore.

"The suits make a difference," Biedermann said. "Last year, it was Speedo. This year, it's Arena.

"I hope there will be a time when I can beat Michael Phelps without these suits," the German added. "I hope next year. I hope it's really soon."

Biedermann's upset launched another night of record breaking at the world championships. Four more world standards were bumped from the books, bringing the total to 15 through the first three days of an eight-day meet. That equals the number of records set at the last worlds in Melbourne two years ago, and will soon go right on past the staggering 25 world marks set last summer at the Olympics.

Britain's Gemma Spofforth went the fastest ever to win the 100 backstroke; Italy's Federica Pellegrini fired up the home crowd with her second world record of the championships in a semifinal heat of the 200 free; and South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh posted his own mark in the semis of the 50 breaststroke, a non-Olympic event.

But Biedermann's win - and Phelps' loss - stood out on a warm summer night at the Foro Italico.

Biedermann conceded after his 400 free win that the suit made him two seconds faster, but Phelps passed on the chance to wear one of the latest-generation suits. He's been sponsored by Speedo since he was a teenager and wasn't about to abandon the company that paid him a US$1-million bonus after he won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

Shortly before the race, FINA confirmed that a bodysuit ban will take effect by May 2010, making this the last major competition where buoyancy-aiding suits are allowed.

"It's not my problem," Biedermann said. "It's the problem of FINA. They should handle it really fast."

Phelps was ahead off the blocks, but Biedermann surged into the lead by the first flip and steadily extended his advantage. By the finish, he was a full body length ahead of Phelps.

While Biedermann celebrated his time of one minute 42.00 seconds, which knocked off Phelps' world mark of 1:42.96 from the Beijing Olympics, the American stared at the scoreboard for a few seconds, then headed toward the side of the pool without acknowledging the swimmer who had just handed him his first big individual loss since July 30, 2005, at the world championships in Montreal.

That night, Ian Crocker beat Phelps in the 100 butterfly. Bouncing back from that disappointment, Phelps went 5-for-5 in his individual events at the 2007 worlds in Melbourne, then duplicated the feat at Beijing, where three relay wins gave him an iconic sporting achievement.

"Theoretically, that was a pretty good swim for me, three-tenths off my best time after taking six months off," said Phelps, referring to his layoff after the Olympics. "I mean, I'm not happy, but I mean I know I didn't train much this year. For right now, I'll take it."

Just don't think he's satisfied with finishing second.

That was obvious from the awards ceremony. Phelps started to walk away after the top three got their medals, then had to be motioned back to the top rung to pose for pictures with the winner and bronze medallist Danila Izotov of Russia.

Instead of being the centre of attention, Phelps had to stand off to the side, looking glumly toward the cameras. As they walked around the deck, Biedermann danced in delight while Phelps managed a few forced smiles toward the stands.

Finally, Phelps climbed toward the stands to drop off a stuffed mascot with his mother, Debbie, who leaned over to give him a consoling hug. Before her son even left the pool deck, he pulled off his silver medal, as if he wanted no part of that consolation prize.

Phelps did come back about an hour later to qualify for the final of the 200 butterfly on what figures to be his toughest day of the meet. He posted the second-fastest time in the semifinals, just 0.13 seconds behind Japan's Takeshi Matsuda.

America Rebecca Soni won the 100 breaststroke though she came up just short of her record time in the semifinals. Soni touched in 1:04.93 - 0.09 off the mark from the previous day. Russia's Yuliya Efimove took silver and Americann Kasey Carlson was third.

Taking advantage of Aaron Peirsol's shocking elimination in the semifinals of the 100 back, Japan's Junya Koga captured the world title in 52.26. Peirsol went faster than that (51.94) in setting a world record this month, but all he could do was watch from the stands as Koga ended his reign as three-time champion. Helge Meeuw of Germany won silver and Spain's Aschwin Grigoriadis claimed the bronze.

Italy's Alessia Filippi won the 1,500 free, another event that's not on the Olympic program. Denmark's Lotte Friis won silver and Romania's Camelia Potec took the bronze.

Spofforth rallied in the 100 back to win in 58.12, beating the mark of 58.48 set a day earlier by Anastasia Zueva. The Russian also went under her old mark (58.18) but it was good only for silver this time. Australia's Emily Seebohm took the bronze.

Meanwhile, in water polo Tuesday, the United States and Serbia advanced to the semifinals.

The U.S. beat Germany 8-5 and will face either Spain or Canada in Thursday's semifinals, while Serbia defeated Hungary 10-9 in extra time and will meet the winner of the Croatia-Romania match. The other quarter-finals are scheduled for later Tuesday.