Michael Phelps struggled in a knee-length suit, but the Americans who stuck with the soon-to-be-banned bodysuits Saturday ensured the Europeans were trounced by 107 points in the Duel in Pool Saturday. In the last major meet before the Jan. 1 ban on high-tech polyurethane suits, the US team won by a 185-78 margin and set eight world records over the two days. Phelps, who has reverted to wearing an old style textile suit, did anchor the US to victory in the 4x100-meter freestyle in a world record time, but didn't fare well in the individual races. In the 200 butterfly, the 14-time Olympic champion was beaten by a body length by Michael Rock of Britain, who was wearing a performance-enhancing suit. And in the 200 freestyle, Phelps slumped to third. “I'm disappointed a little bit because I would like to have swum a little faster, but this is more of a team event than anything else,” Phelps said. “I'm not in great shape and I know what I have to do to improve. I'd rather lose a race now than when it really counts. “The biggest things I'm looking forward to is the world championships next summer and the Olympics after that. If I can be prepared for those races I will be absolutely fine. These are all baby steps towards the big picture.” Soothing Phelps' concerns is the knowledge that swimming returns to being a level playing field in less than two weeks. “It will be more of a sport and not just putting on a suit,” he said at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. Regardless of the suits, this duel against the best swimmers from Britain, Italy and Germany was never a contest. As the Americans set world records from the first race Friday – the women's 4x100-meter medley – to Saturday's finale featuring Phelps in the 4x100 freestyle, victory was beyond doubt. The US lead was insurmountable with eight races to go, but there were a couple of comforting statistics for the European all-stars. While the US won by 11-3 races Friday, the margin was reduced to 10-6 Saturday. And in the previous three Duel in the Pool events, the US beat Australia each time – the first time by 112 points in 2003. The Europeans' loss was by five fewer points. Rock, seventh equal in the Rome world championships final this year, told reporters it was the greatest experience of his life to beat Phelps. But he deflected questions about the difference in the suits, saying the bodysuit was still legal at the moment. Phelps also refused to be drawn on the suit issue. On Saturday, world champion Rebecca Soni set the first of the day's three world records when she became the first woman to swim under 63 seconds for the 100 meters breaststroke. Soni, who broke the 200 mark on Friday, clocked 62.70 seconds. Her American teammate Julia Smit clocked a world-record 2:04.60 in the women's 200m individual medley. Nick Thoman, who broke the world 100 backstroke record in the opening leg of the 4x100 medley on Friday, sliced one-hundredth of a second from his mark of 48.94 but was then disqualified. Britain's double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington, well beaten in the 400m Friday, made no contest of the 800m, the opening event Saturday. Adlington won in 8:10.:59 ahead of fellow Briton Keri-Anne Payne, the world 10-kms open water champion. The Americans remain undefeated in Duel in the Pool contests after beating Australia three times.
