Ryan Lochte Wins Gold In Men's 400m Individual Medley, Michael Phelps Finishes Fourth

United States' Ryan Lochte reacts after competing in the men's 400-meter individual medley swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July 28, 2012.

Ryan Lochte has won gold in the 400-meter individual medley while Michael Phelps goes away from the event empty handed, having finished fourth. Lochte touched the wall with a time of 4:05:18, challenging for the world record. This is the first gold medal for the United States. Thiago Pereira captured silver for Brazil while won Kosuke Hagino took bronze for Japan.

The 400 IM Final marked the first encounter between the friendly rivals, Phelps and Lochte during the 2012 London Games. The duels in the pool between Phelps and Lochte were among the most anticipated matchups ahead of the games. However, this showdown between the swimming stars almost never happened after Phelps barely qualified earlier Saturday morning. The defending gold medalist placed eighth in the preliminaries, and swam in the eighth lane in this race. He was in medal contention during the race but fell off the pace as Lochte powered toward the finish.

If both make it through their preliminary heats in other events, they could race against each other again in 200m Individual Medley finals on Thursday.

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