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Highs and lows have taught Phelps a lesson
He will still contest the 100 metres butterfly and the 200m individual medley but is also entered in the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle, as well as the three relays.
THREE RELAYS The United States will be expected to win the three relays after South Africa, who won the 4x100m freestyle gold medal in Athens, announced they were not contesting the event in Montreal and Phelps will start as favourite in the 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley. The three freestyle events are a different proposition and he would do well to win any of them, never mind all three. The most likely is the 200m. He finished a creditable third behind Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband in the four-lap race at Athens but will not have to race either man this time after they both decided to skip the championships. The absence of van den Hoogenband in the 100m and Thorpe in the 400m has also opened the door slightly in those events but there is no shortage of contenders with better times than Phelps. While he surprised himself just by qualifying for each of those events at the U.S. national titles, he is under no illusions about the difficulties he faces winning them all, though he thinks the experience will help in the long run. "This year we're trying new things to see what works and see what doesn't work," he explained. "We'll change that next year and in the years to come, leading up to Beijing."
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