Associated Press

Long Beach, July 8:

Michael Phelps began his quest for Olympic history with a world record. Phelps, 19, who hopes to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven golds in Athens, broke his own world mark in the 400m individual medley with an electrifying swim in the first final of the US trials. His time of 4 minutes, 8.41 seconds eclipsed the record of 4:09.09 he set at last year’s world championship in Barcelona. Phelps was off the pace through his first leg, the breaststroke, but made up for it and then some in the backstroke. The crowd began chanting “Go! Go! Go!” each time he poked his head above water during the breaststroke. When Phelps touched the wall, he quickly looked back at the scoreboard. When he saw the record, he pumped his left fist and wagged a finger.