Swimming World Championships

Swimming World Championships

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Ryan Lochte finished off a monster week Sunday with a dominant performance in the 400 IM. Lochte beat fellow American Tyler Clary by four seconds, a huge margin for the 400 IM. Lochte led from start to finish and leaves China with five gold medals from individual events and a bronze from a relay.

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Melissa Franklin, age 16, won gold in the 200-meter backstroke with an impressive time of (2:05:10). Franklin won four medals during the Championships and has emerged as one the new faces for American swimming. After Franklin's performance, many analysts compared her to Michael Phelps, who also made his debut in the World Championships at 16.

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Dale Owen rolled over his competition in the 100-meter breaststroke Monday, finishing in 58.7 seconds. The second-place finisher, Fabio Scozzoli, finished .71 seconds behind. Owen's time was .13 seconds away from the world record, which is held by Australia's Brenton Rickard.

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Felipe Silva of Brazil celebrates after winning a gold medal in the 50-meter breaststroke. Silva finished with a time of 27.01.

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An underwater camera catches China's Ji Liping in the stretch run of the 100-meter breaststroke final. Liping finished in third place, behind Rebecca Soni and Leisel Jones.

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Natalie Coughlin at the start of the 100-meter backstroke final. Coughlin, who nine years ago became the first person to finish the event in under a minute, looked rusty after taking 18 months off. She took home a bronze.

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Michael Phelps got off to a fast start in the 4x100m freestyle relay. The Olympic legend and his teammates finished behind Australia and France, a surprising outcome as the Australians were heavy underdogs and the U.S. was the favorite.

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Michael Phelps watches in disbelief as his relay team falls behind the Australians and French in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

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Nathan Adrian, Garrett Weber-Gale, Jason Lezak and Michael Phelps attend the medal presentation ceremony after winning third in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

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Eamon Sullivan, James Magnussen, Mathew Abood and Matthew Targett flash their gold medals at the victory ceremony for the 4x100m freestyle relay.

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Australian Leisel Jones in mid-stroke during the 100-meter breaststroke final. Jones, who had dominated in the 100-meter race over the previous six years, finished second to Rebecca Soni of the United States.

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Dana Vollmer of the U.S. was the first American to win a gold medal at the world championships, triumphing in the 100-meter butterfly. Vollmer fought through numerous health issues to reach the world championships.