No surprisingly, the first stroke he mastered was the backstroke. Michael’s competitive fire burned intensely. He hated to lose, and reacted angrily on the odd occasions when he did.

Phelps just misses record

He wins 200-meter backstroke, finishing less than 0.3 of a second off world mark.

INDIANAPOLIS - Still a year away from the Summer Olympics, coaches, commentators and swimming enthusiasts are already running out of adjectives to describe what Michael Phelps is capable of in the pool. You have to dig deep to capture his latest feat - nearly breaking the world record in an event that wasn't even part of his last Olympic program.

"Another Michael moment basically," said Bob Bowman, Phelps' coach with Club Wolverine.

Phelps won the 200-meter backstroke last night with a time of 1 minute, 54.65 seconds, less than 0.3 of a second off the world-record pace. It was the first of two golds yesterday for Phelps, who was also a part of the first-place 400-meter freestyle relay team. And even though he won the backstroke race, there's a part of him that glimpsed the winning time and couldn't help but feel a slight pang of disappointment.

"That's what keeps me hungry," he said of barely missing the record. "Being so close to something and not really achieving it. It makes me hungry for the next time I swim that race."

Phelps' time is the third best in the event's history. Ryan Lochte set the world record - 1:54.32 - at the world championships in March but was well off that pace last night, finishing fourth with a time of 1:59.11. Lochte will have a few more chances at Phelps, as the two are scheduled to square off today in the 400-meter freestyle, Friday in the 100 backstroke and Saturday in the 200 individual medley.

For Phelps, the 200 backstroke is considered an "off" event, even though he's had success in the it in the past. He hasn't committed to adding the 200 backstroke to his Olympic trials program. The event was not among his seven first-place finishes at the world championships four months ago, and Phelps said he was curious to see where he stood.

"Tonight's event was the event I was looking forward to the most," he said.

With Phelps swimming the first leg, his Club Wolverine won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:17.96.

For the second straight day, Towson's Katie Hoff also competed in an "off" event, and for the second straight day she also made waves. Following Tuesday's personal best in the 800 freestyle, Hoff took first in the 200 backstroke last night. She managed to shave more than three seconds off her personal best, winning with a time of 2:10.31.

"Both of these days have been pressure-free for me. I didn't go into these ranked in the top two or anything like that," she said. "It's been fun being able to drop my times and see where I stack up against the best in these two events."

Hoff won three world championships in March, competing in the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys and the 800 freestyle relay. This week's marks certainly raise questions about just how many events Hoff might try at next year's Olympic trials.

Swimming in the C-final of the 200 backstroke was 16-year-old Austin Surhoff of the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Surhoff is the son of former Orioles outfielder B.J. Surhoff. He came into the race with the 45th seeding but finished in 22nd place with a time of 2:05.05.