Ryan Lochte

Michael Phelps withdrew today from the preliminary heats of the 200-meter individual medley at the Pan Pacific Championships here, meaning there would be no rematch against rival Ryan Lochte in the event. "Michael is going to skip the 200 IM this morning so he can concentrate on the [medley] relay tonight," his coach Bob Bowman told reporters in the mixed zone before the heats. "The reason for that [is] it's going to take three really good swims to get through that and that at this point, neither one of us feel like he's got three really good ones.

Michael Phelps will swim the second leg of tonight's 400-meter freestyle relay, with Ryan Lochte anchoring the always exciting race in which the U.S. faces stiff competition from the Australian team. Phelps, who traditionally leads off the relay, is coming off Saturday's sluggish 400-meter individual relay, his fourth-place finish leaving him without a medal. His rival Lochte won gold with a powerful swim. Sprinters Nathan Adrian and Cullen Jones swim first and third, respectively.

Michael Phelps' surprising decision to swim the punishing 400 individual medley at the Indianapolis Grand Prix on Friday was a topic of discussion today as elite swimmers began arriving for one of the last meets before the London Olympics four months from now. Phelps, who flew from his Baltimore home Wednesday morning, practiced with a few teammates from the North Baltimore Aquatics Club and then headed to an event at a local Boys and Girls Club...

Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps came within a half second of the U.S. record in the 200-yard individual medley Saturday, winning in 1 minute, 40.58 seconds in the Maryland swimming championships at the Naval Academy. Phelps had been scheduled to swim in two events Saturday but chose to drop out of the 500 freestyle to concentrate on the 200 IM after swimming a 1:43.99 in his qualifying heat. Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte set the U.S. record of 1:40.08 in the 2007 Short Course Nationals, with Phelps finishing second in 1:41.

Satisfaction remained an elusive concept for Michael Phelps . Disappointment? Exhaustion? Yes, those were in reach. But maybe it was a mixture of both after Phelps, who lives in Fells Point, won the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday night at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in 1 minute, 54.11 seconds. This was, after all, a far cry from his most recent experience in the event, a win at the nationals here earlier this month. It was a race he called probably his "worst" 200 fly ever.

This is getting repetitive, in a Michael Phelps sort of way. Ryan Lochte won his third and fourth gold medals at the world swimming championships Friday night, obliterating the field in the final of the 200-meter backstroke before unleashing a jaw-dropping anchor leg to help bail out a U.S. 800 relay team that sat in third place after Phelps' leadoff swim. At the start of this meet, swimming fans wondered whether Lochte could hold his own against Phelps on such a major stage.

Previewing what he might swim in his final Olympics in London, Michael Phelps has entered seven races in next week's qualifying trials - including the exciting but exhausting 400-meter individual medley. The question of how the Baltimore swimmer would cap off his already golden Olympic career this summer has been the subject of much speculation. His entry list for the swimming trials, which begin in Omaha, Neb., on Monday, at least partially answers that: The 200- and 400-meter individual medleys, the 100- and 200-meter butterflys, the 100- and 200-meter freestyles and the 200-meter backstroke.

Omaha, Neb. -- Ryan Lochte again bested Michael Phelps on Tuesday night, this time in by a mere .02 seconds, in their semifinal heat in the 200-meter freestyle event of the Olympic qualifying trials. Both go on to the finals Wednesday night to see if one or both swims the event at the London Games. "I was a little sore this morning but I'm fine with that," said Phelps, who was stretching his neck from side to side as he entered for the race at the CenturyLink Center here.

Monday was a big night for Gregg Troy, swim coach at the University of Florida and the U.S. men's team going to the Olympics. Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay, Conor Dwyer and Elizabeth Beisel all qualified for the Olympics on Monday, the first day of the swimming trials, and all are coached by Troy. "I think it's a true testament to how great of a coach he is," said Beisel, who won the women's 400-meter individual medley. "He truly is the best coach in the world. " Lochte, who won the men's 400 IM and qualified with second-place finisher Michael Phelps, said Troy's tough training has him ready for a big trials, and Olympics.

Michael Phelps and the 400-meter individual medley were supposed to be history. Not just yet. Phelps, who lives in Fells Point, said Monday that he will swim the event -- for the first time since winning Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 -- at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. "Figure, why not give it a shot?" he said at a news conference in Irvine, Calif. "Like I said before, I'm probably not in the best shape I want to be to swim that race. We'll see if we can make worlds.