Michael Phelps Barely Makes Individual Medley Final

American swimmers Michael Phelps and Phil Lochte will both compete in the 400-meter Individual Medley Saturday evening.
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Michael Phelps Barely Makes Individual Medley Final
Michael Phelps of the United States competes in the Final of the Men's 400m Individual Medley on Day One of the London 2012 Olympic Games. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
7/28/2012
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img class="size-full wp-image-1784215" title="Olympics Day 1 - Swimming" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/11aPhlpss149443672.jpg" alt="Michael Phelps of the United States competes in the Final of the Men's 400m Individual Medley on Day One of the London 2012 Olympic Games. (Al Bello/Getty Images)" width="750" height="500"/></a>
Michael Phelps of the United States competes in the Final of the Men's 400m Individual Medley on Day One of the London 2012 Olympic Games. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

American swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will both compete in the 400-meter Individual Medley Saturday evening, but for the defending champion Phelps it was a near thing.

Phelps turned in a time of 4:13.33, six seconds slower than his Olympic record. He won the slow first heat with that time, while Lochte couldn’t win the faster second heat with his time of 4:12.35.

Phelps’ time was eighth slowest of the two heats; he beat 2008 bronze medalist Lazlo Cseh by just .07 seconds.

Neither U.S. swimmer went all-out, and both said after the event they didn’t feel good about their performances. If Phelps can swim to his full potential in the final, he could set a record for three golds in a row in the event.