Going into the final, favourites Ryan Lochte and Aaron Peirsol shared the world record in the men’s 200m backstroke. This is no longer the case, with Lochte beating Peirsol and claiming the world record independently in the backstroke final at the Beijing Olympics today.

Lochte finished in a time of 1:53.94, eclipsing the previous world record by 0.38 seconds.

Fellow American Peirsol finished just one one-hundredth outside the previous world mark to claim the silver in a time of 1:54.33.

Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia set a European Record to claim the bronze medal in a time of 1:54.93.

Hayden Stoeckel of Australia set an Oceanic Record, finishing in sixth place in a time of 1:56.39.

The previous world record of 1:54.32 was set with times on two separate occasions; Lochte first swam the time in March 2007, with Peirsol swimming the same time just last month.

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Tags: beijing olympics, sport, swimming