Spitz is safe: Thorpedo beats Phelps

ATHENS — Ian Thorpe touched the wall, pumped a fist in the air and let out a yell that all but said, "Take that!"

Two lanes over, Michael Phelps was draped over the rope, huffing and puffing as he looked at the scoreboard.

Phelps' improbable pursuit of Mark Spitz is over, Thorpedoed by the man in black.

Thorpe thwarted Phelp's attempt to take home seven gold medals, winning the 200-meter freestyle Monday while the kid from Baltimore was relegated to bronze for the second night in a row — a medal to be savored, for sure, but not the color he needed to catch Spitz.

With his long arms churning smoothly, his enormous feet kicking furiously, Thorpe passed Pieter van den Hoogenband in the homestretch, finishing with an Olympic record of 1 minute, 44.71 seconds. The Dutchman's time was 1:45.23 — good enough for silver.

Though Phelps swam the fastest 200 of his life, it wasn't enough in this ballyhooed showdown.

"How can I be disappointed? I swam in a field with two of the fastest freestylers of all time, and I was right there with them," the 19-year-old Phelps said.

Spitz will remain at the pinnacle of swimming, the guy who won seven gold medals — all in world-record time — at the 1972 Munich Games. Phelps has one gold and two bronzes so far, and the chance to win five more medals — but the race with Spitz is over.

"I tried to do something he did, and I didn't do it," Phelps said. "I'm already successful. It was a great opportunity I had, something I'll always remember."

Two other Americans did claim gold on this night.

Natalie Coughlin, the top female swimmer on the American team, won the 100 backstroke, falling short of her own world record but holding off Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe. France's Laure Manaudou took bronze, her second medal of the games.

Aaron Peirsol won the men's 100 backstroke, the first gold medal of his career. Markus Rogan of Austria took the silver and Japan's Tomomi Morita held off American Lenny Krayzelburg for the bronze.

Phelps challenged Thorpe on his own turf — the 200 is one of the Aussie's signature events. But the Thorpedo, wearing the full black bodysuit that has become his trademark, wasn't about to let this one slip away.