Cesar Cielo set a Brazilian national record of 48.34 at the Ohio grand prix on Sunday, keeping Michael Phelps at bay by just 0.07sec. That 48.41 was Phelp's best ever by 0.01sec.
'I guess I ran out of pool,' a smiling Phelps told the media at the meet. 'I needed a couple of more metres. I wanted to come in and get my best time and I barely did it, so I accomplished my goal.' Fred Bousquet (FRA) took third in 49.38.
Cielo's time leaves him just shy of the all-time top 10:
Katie Hoff concluded her campaign with two more solid swims - 55.24 in the 100m free and 2:11.03 behind Kaitlin Sandeno (2:10.75) in the 200m butterfly. Hoff said she was happy to have swum 'tough' at the meet. 'Overall, I'm very pleased with how the weekend went. I actually got a couple best times out of it. That's always a good thing.'
Her coach, Paul Yetter, said the ambitious race programme (it was almost easier to say what she didn't race), 'is what makes Katie, Katie. ... She has to be able to step up at the end and do great splits. That's great preparation for anytime she has to swim two events.'