Michael Phelps led from start to finish to win the 200m freestyle in 1 minute, 47.46 seconds at the Canada Cup Saturday. More than 1,500 spectators turned out to the Olympic Pool, a better than average crowd for a swim meet, to see Phelps dominate his one event. Fellow American Matthew Patton was second in 1:49.87, with Canadian Ryan Cochrane third in 1:50.08. “I didn't feel like I could really step on it the first hundred,” said Phelps, the American star who turned 26 Thursday. “I felt kind of weird. I usually have easy speed the first hundred and I tried to step on it and I just didn't have it. Hopefully it's something we can fix.” Phelps is scheduled to compete in the 100m butterfly Sunday. The meet at one of the world's fastest pools is being used as a tuneup for the World Aquatic Championships beginning July 16 in Shanghai, which itself is a test leading into the 2012 Olympics in London. At the worlds, Phelps said he will swim in up to seven events — the 100 and 200 butterfly, the 200 free, the 200 individual medley and as many as three relays. He gave up on the 400 individual medley after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he won eight gold medals. There has been concern this year that he is being caught by his rivals. He lost the 200m freestyle world record to Paul Biedermann at the 2009 world championships, but the German was wearing one of the speed-boosting polyurethane body suits that have since been banned. Still, Phelps has struggled. He had not lost the 200m butterfly since 2002 but was beaten three times this year. “Speed is something that's always been pretty easy for me to get,” he said. “I'm trying to get my endurance back, plus get my speed back at the same time. “That makes things little bit more challenging. I would have liked to swim a little faster than that but there's nothing I can do about that now.”
