Lochte again sets pace at U.S. trials

By Julian Linden

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Ryan Lochte outswam Michael Phelps for the second day in a row to set the fastest qualifying time for the 200 meters freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials on Tuesday.

Lochte followed up his victory over Phelps in Monday's 400 individual medley when he easily won his 200 heat in one minute 48.14 seconds, while the Olympic champion was relegated to third in 1:48.31. The top 16 qualified for the semi-finals.

Lochte also qualified second fastest behind Matt Grevers in the 100 backstroke preliminaries, but scratched himself from the semi-finals because of his heavy program.

"The 100 back hurt worse than the 200 free," said Lochte, who swam the two heats about an hour apart. "The 200 free just felt really smooth."

Lochte and Phelps have both entered multiple events but neither has confirmed exactly how many they intend to swim at the Olympics.

"It's not an easy program, but we're going to try to do some things here," Phelps said.

"The biggest thing is really how I hold up all week. I was definitely happy with getting last night out of the way early.

"It wasn't the easiest race but this morning felt pretty comfortable, so hopefully we can just keep everything rolling for the rest of the meet."