Michael Phelps notched his second win in as many days over Ryan Lochte in the fourth meet of his comeback after a 20-month retirement.
Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals, won a 100m backstroke race in 53.88 seconds in Athens, Ga., on Saturday. Lochte, an 11-time Olympic medalist, touched second in 54.4.
Phelps’ victory in an event neither usually swims at major meets came one day after he beat Lochte by a comfortable 1.41 seconds in a 100m butterfly race.
Butterfly has always been Phelps’ signature stroke, while Lochte has more backstroke experience. Lochte is the reigning World champion in the 200m back. But Lochte is coming back from an aggravation of a major November knee injury, competing for the first time since April.
Phelps’ time ranks No. 14 in the world this year and third among Americans, according to SwimVortex.com.
Phelps is expected to swim the 100m freestyle on the final day of the meet Sunday.
Swimmers are preparing for the U.S. Championships in Irvine Calif., Aug. 6-10, and the Pan Pacific Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, from Aug. 21-24.
In other events, 2013 World 400m individual medley silver medalist Chase Kalisz won the 200m butterfly, a former Phelps staple, in 1:58.09, making him the third-fastest American this year. Olympic 200m backstroke champion Tyler Clary was second in 1:58.96.
Olympian Cammile Adams won the women’s 200m fly in 2:08.45, improving to 13th in the world this year.
Brazil’s second-best sprinter, Bruno Fratus, won the 50m freestyle in 22.09, .26 faster than U.S. Olympic silver medalist Cullen Jones. Two-time Bahamian Olympian Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace took the women’s 50m free in 24.67, .69 slower than the fastest woman this year.
Melanie Margalis upset World bronze medalist Micah Lawrence in the 200m breaststroke, clocking 2:27.06, still more than two seconds slower than Lawrence’s U.S.-best time this year.
Nic Fink won the men’s 200m breast in 2:11.76 and Kathleen Baker, 17, the 100m back in 1:00.65, both the fastest times by an American in 2014.
Cierra Runge won the women’s 400m free in 4:07.67, improving on her time as the second-fastest American behind Katie Ledecky this year.