Wu again out-duels Phelps
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China's Wu Peng surged past US Olympic star Michael Phelps in the final 50 meters on Saturday to win the 200m butterfly at the Charlotte UltraSwim long-course meeting.
Wu won in 1:56.83, while Phelps settled for second in 1:58.22.
Wu couldn't match his season's best of 1:56.62, but he had the satisfaction of notching another victory over Phelps, who reigned in the 200m fly for nearly a decade.
Wu's victory at the Michigan Grand Prix last month - in a race in which Phelps finished fourth - marked the 14-time Olympic gold medallist's first defeat in the event since 2002.
"It literally felt like a piano fell on my back," Phelps said of his late fade. "I knew at 150 that I was in trouble."
Later on Saturday, Wu helped Club Wolverine win the men's 4x200m freestyle relay, teaming with Adam DeJong, Matthew Patton and Daniel Madwed to win in 7:36.38.
Josh Schneider, who missed out on a World Championships berth in a 50m freestyle swim-off against Cullen Jones on Thursday, turned the tables on Jones with a 50m free victory in 22.51.
Jones was second, just one one-hundredth of a second back.
"It's revenge, and a huge confidence booster," Schneider said. "I was mopey after that loss (in the swim-off). It's really the first hard defeat I've had in the sport of swimming. I was climbing high and far, and that knocked the wind out of me."
While Jones has secured his spot for the World Championships in Shanghai in July, Schneider is now focused on improving, no doubt with the 2012 London Olympics in the back of his mind.
"I've been cruising," Schneider said. "I'm more determined now. I feel the need to get better. It's never been like that for me."
US Olympic veteran Natalie Coughlin held off her young challengers to win the 100m backstroke in 1:00.02. Missy Franklin, 16, was second.
"I tried to get away from the fly-and-die approach, and take a more controlled pace," said Coughlin, an 11-time Olympic medallist. "I've been doing a lot of heavy lifting and Pilates lately, and I've always been the type to try so hard, but I can't just go out there and spin my wheels in the first 25 meters."
Rebecca Soni just missed her season's world-leading time in winning the 200m breaststroke in 2:23.33.
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