Phelps annihilates own world record to win third gold

MELBOURNE: Michael Phelps annihilated his world record in the 200-metres butterfly to seize his third gold medal in another astonishing performance at the world swimming championships on Wednesday. 

The 21-year-old American carved a massive 1.71 seconds off his own world record to set a new mark at one minute 52.09 seconds.

Phelps was 1.78secs under his record at the 150m mark and was well in front of the red-line used in the television race coverage to signify the world record.

He had held the previous mark at 1:53.80 and had bettered that last February in Missouri when he swum another world record of 1:53.71 which governing body FINA has yet to officially ratify.

Phelps has now set two world records at the meet after his stunning win over Pieter van den Hoogenband in Tuesday's 200m freestyle final. 

"I surprised myself, I went so fast," Phelps said. "I wanted to go 1:52.00 but I didn't expect to swim 1:52.00," he said.

"I'm showing I'm in solid shape now. I had a really good swim earlier in the season where I broke the world record."

"I wanted to take it out tonight, so I'm pretty happy." 

Phelps still has five more events to come as he chases a record eight gold medals at the championships in his campaign to overtake Mark Spitz's Olympic record of seven swimming gold medals at next year's Beijing Olympics. 

Wednesday's victory was the American's 13th career gold medal at the world championships and he is now the only swimmer to have won the 200m butterfly world title three times. 

He was the champion at the 2001 and 2003 world championships but left the event off his schedule at Montreal in 2005.