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London Olympics: Michael Phelps barely avoids disaster in 400 IM

Michael Phelps competes in the 400-meter individual medley.
(Martin Bureau / AFP/Getty Images)
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LONDON -- Michael Phelps narrowly avoided what would have been a massive embarrassment on the opening morning of the London Olympics, earning the eighth and final qualifying spot in the men’s 400-meter individual medley Saturday morning.

Phelps won the event in 2004 and 2008 -- one of his record eight gold medals in Beijing -- and he is trying to become the first man to win the same event in three consecutive Olympics. Yet he came within seven-hundredths of a second of not making the final at all.

“The only thing that matters is getting a spot,” Phelps said. “You can’t win a gold medal in the morning.”

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Phelps won what turned out to be the slowest of the three seeded heats. After he swam, he thought he would finish “fourth or fifth” overall.

His time of 4:13.33 was more than five seconds slower than his time at the U.S. Olympic trials and almost 10 seconds slower than the world record he set four years ago.

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Ryan Lochte, who beat Phelps in the event at the Olympic trials, swam 4:12.35 to finish third. Lochte would not discount Phelps’ chances in Saturday night’s finals.

“It’s hard,” Lochte said. “It’s a tough field. He’s in. You can’t count him out. He’s a racer.

“We’re going to do everything we can to go 1-2 tonight.”

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