Swimming: Phelps into 200m medley final
Posted: 11 November 2009 2319 hrs

	Photos  of

STOCKHOLM: US superstar Michael Phelps reached the final of the 200 metres individual medley at the short-course World Cup on Wednesday but failed to make the final of the 100m butterfly.

Returning to competition for the first time since the world championships in Rome in July, Phelps is up against it as he has chosen to revert to conventional swimming attire in anticipation of the FINA ban on high-tech swimsuits which will take effect at the start of next year.

Most swimmers in Stockholm are still wearing the performance-enhancing gear, but a few, Phelps included, have gone back to basic trunks in anticipation of the switch.

On Tuesday, Phelps made only one final out of the three races he contested taking third place in the 100m individual medley.

In reaching the final of the 200m individual medley Phelps posted the second fastest time of 1 minute 56.09 seconds, behind only the 1:55.09 of Sweden's Simon Sjodin, who was wearing a high-tech bodysuit.

The Stockholm meeting is the first time that Phelps has taken part in a short-course event since 2006 and the first time in Europe since 2001, also in Stockholm.

"Short course is really different," said Phelps on Monday.

"There are walls (all the time) ... This morning I said to myself 'let's see if I get through today'. The most important for me is to race. It's what I enjoy the most. - AFP/de