Michael Phelps drops 200m freestyle, ends bid for 8 Olympic golds
Michael Phelps of the United States poses with his gold medal in the Men’s 100m Butterfly Final during Day Fifteen of the 14th FINA World Championships at the Oriental Sports Center on July 30, 2011 in Shanghai, China.
Michael Phelps ended his bid for another eight Olympic gold medals on Monday, dropping one of his races at the London games.
U.S. Olympic swimming coach Bob Bowman announced via Twitter that Phelps would not participate in the individual 200-meter freestyle to allow him to preserve energy for the team relays, Sports Illustrated reported.
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Phelps was set to face American rival Ryan Lochte in the event after beating Lochte in the US Olympic Trials final by five-hundredths of a second last week.
Phelps qualified in five individual events for London, and is expected to swim all three relays. Individually, he will now swim the 200 and 400 individual medley, and the 100 and 200 butterfly, The Associated Press reported.
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The 27-year-old triumphed in the 200 freestyle in the Beijing Olympics, when he won an unprecedented eight gold medals. However, he's been beaten in the event at the last two world championships, according to Reuters.
Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals at a single Olympics (eight) and overall medals (14), Reuters reported.