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ROME ? Michael Phelps and the U.S. 400-meter medley relay team closed the fastest meet in swimming history with an appropriate finish Sunday night ? the 43rd world record.
Phelps earned his fifth gold medal of a world championships that showed he?s still got plenty of motivation, even after winning a record eight times at the Beijing Olympics.
Swimming the butterfly leg, Phelps helped the US pull away from Germany and Australia to win in 3 minutes, 27.28 seconds. That easily broke the mark set by the Americans at last year?s Olympics, 3:29.34.
Phelps took six months off after his Beijing triumph, received a three-month suspension from competition after that infamous marijuana pipe photo came out ? and he was still named the most outstanding male swimmer of the championships. Italy?s Federica Pellegrini received the female award.
Eric Shanteau, who overcame testicular cancer to swim his best times, picked up the first major gold medal of his career on the breaststroke leg of relay, to go along with a silver and bronze in Rome. The other members of the winning team were backstroker Aaron Peirsol and David Walters, swimming the freestyle anchor.
Also Sunday, Ryan Lochte won his fourth gold of the championships and Germany?s Britta Steffen matched her 50-100 freestyle sweep in Beijing.
Taking advantage of Phelps? absence, Lochte added the 400-meter individual medley title to his medal haul at the championships. Lochte also won the 200 IM along with two relay golds, in addition to taking bronze in the 200 backstroke.
Lochte was far off Phelps? world record in the 400 IM, touching first in 4:07.01. Phelps won gold at Beijing in 4:03.84, but decided to scale back his program heading into what will be his final Olympics.
The win gave Lochte another chance to break out his diamond-studded ?grillz,? which he popped in his mouth while posing for photographers after the medal ceremony.
Steffen was one of the biggest female stars in Rome. She set her third world record of the meet while winning the 50 free in 23.73.
Tunisia?s Ous Mellouli matched his Olympic gold by winning again in the 1,500 free, the longest event in the pool. After a tight battle over the first 1,000 meters with Canada?s Ryan Cochrane, Mellouli steadily pulled away to win in 14:37.28, though short of Grant Hackett?s 8-year-old world record of 14:34.56.
Another race where the old mark stood up was the women?s 400 IM, won by Hungary?s Katinka Hosszu in 14:30.31, just off Stephanie Rice?s mark of 4:29.45 at last summer?s Olympics. Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe got the silver and Rice, one of the biggest stars in Beijing but not quite on form here, held on for bronze.
A pair of world records fell in non-Olympic events.
Liam Tancock broke his own world record to win the 50 backstroke. The British swimmer touched in 24.04, eclipsing the mark of 24.08 he set the previous day in the semifinals. Japan?s Junya Koga claimed silver and South Africa?s Gerhard Zandberg earned bronze.
Russia?s Yuliya Efimova set a world record while edging American Rebecca Soni in the 50 breaststroke. Efimova won in 30.09, breaking the record of 30.23 set by Canada?s Amanda Reason less than a month ago. The next two also went under the old mark, with Soni (30.11) taking silver and Australia?s Sarah Katsoulis (30.16) the bronze.
