Lochte leaves Phelps behind

LONDON -- He said it at least four times in 15 minutes. Said it with emphasis. With purpose. With conviction.

"I worked my butt off for four years," Ryan Lochte reminded those asking questions Saturday. "I put in all the hard work."

If there was a hidden message there - and you can bet your last backstroke there was - the reality of it played out at the Olympics some 90 minutes earlier.

Lochte solidified himself as the world's best swimmer, and in the process the man many consider the best in history took a disappointing first step toward retirement in the 400-meter individual medley at the Aquatics Center.

Michael Phelps probably still will depart here the owner of the most Olympic medals in history, but his fourth-place finish in the first big event of these games unquestionably passed the torch of excellence to his U.S. teammate and main rival.

Lochte won gold in 4 minutes, 5.18 seconds, won swimming's toughest race by starting fast and never relenting, won an event that demands endurance and mastery of four strokes by more than three seconds.

Thiago Pereira of Brazil won silver, and Kosuke Hagino of Japan took bronze.

And then came a very tired legend.

Phelps finished in 4:09.28 and off the medal stand for only the second time in his four trips to the Olympics. He qualified in the eighth and final spot with a morning time of 4:13.40 and proved to be just as much a nonfactor when the lights came on for real.

"I just couldn't really put myself in a good spot," Phelps said. "It's frustrating, for sure. ... It's just really frustrating to start off on a bad note like this. I was lucky to get in (the final).

"It was just a crappy race. I felt fine the first 200 (meters), then I don't know. They just swam a better race than me, a smarter race than me, and were better prepared than me. That's why they're on the medal stand."

Better prepared, indeed.

Phelps insisted he was fit enough to win, that those two years spent partying and living the life of a young, rich, famous athlete after his haul of eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing would not deter his pursuit of more records in London.

He thought two years of intense training were enough.

It sure didn't look that way Saturday.

"He certainly didn't get by on talent in (this race)," said Bob Bowman, Phelps' coach. "I thought he would go pretty well. His backstroke wasn't good, and his freestyle wasn't very good in the end, and I don't understand that. I'm surprised. Not pleasantly.

"I don't know. In the long run, it's ultimately a fitness issue over what he hasn't done over four years. He said it was horrible, and it was. He accurately assessed it."

Lochte was the opposite. This is why he changed his diet and trained much harder after Beijing, where he won four medals but was third in a 400 IM that Phelps won in world-record time. He saw the global star atop that stand and realized what it would take to overtake him.

When he had done so, when he watched the American flag rise and heard the national anthem play and took a few customary nibbles out of his shiny medal for photographers, Lochte walked over near the stands and tossed his mother a small bouquet of flowers. He then gave his brother a hand signal that intertwined the letters R and L. Friends and family wore blue T-shirts with the words TEAM LOCHTE on the front.

The world's best swimmer basked in all of it, knowing he will go head-to-head against Phelps again Thursday in the 200 IM.

"To have my whole family in the stands cheering definitely gave me a boost," Lochte said. "When I touched the wall, I was in shock. I still am. I was surprised Michael wasn't on the medals stand, because when he swims, he's on it no matter what. I'll tell you this: The next race he's in, he will light it up.

"A lot of people say Michael is inhuman. You know what? He's just like all of us. But he knows how to win. That's what you have to learn, to find ways to beat him. He's only one person. I've said this before. This is my year. I can feel it. This is my year. I've worked so hard."

Message delivered.

Fourth place. Off the medal stand.

Message received.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.