UniversalSports.com Daily Coverage, including webcasts
ROME, Italy, July 29. RYAN Lochte of the U.S. and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary tied for the top seed in the men's 200 IM semis at the FINA World Championships.
The pair put Michael Phelps' world record of 1:54.23 on notice with a pair of 1:55.18s. Lochte and Cseh should easily eclipse the record in finals after the duo shut it down on the freestyle leg with about 25 meters left. Cseh moved ahead of Eric Shanteau as the third-best swimmer in history in the event with that time.
Australia's Leith Brodie qualified third in 1:56.75, while Great Britain's James Goddard won the first semifinal in 1:57.12 to finish fourth overall. Shanteau qualified fifth in 1:57.16.
Brazil's Thiago Pereira (1:57.35), Japan's Ken Takukawa (1:58.09) and Hungary's Gergo Kis (1:58.11) will also vie for the world title in finals.