Phelps breaks 200m world record

EPA ©

Michael Phelps has broken his own world record in the 200 metres individual medley at the US Olympic swim trials, clocking a time of one minute, 54.80 seconds.

Pushed to the wall by good friend and rival Ryan Lochte, Phelps sliced 0.18 seconds of his old mark of 1:54.98 set at last year's world championships in Melbourne.

It was the seventh world record to fall at the trials and the second by Phelps, who bettered his own mark in the 400 medley on Sunday.

With the win, Phelps has now qualified in four individual events for the Beijing Olympics and is aiming to beat Mark Spitz's record haul of seven gold medals at a single Games.