Phelps chalks up sixth gold and record

BEIJING (Reuters) - American Michael Phelps won his sixth gold medal and set his sixth world record at the Beijing Olympics on Friday with a devastating victory in the men's 200 meters individual medley.

Phelps inched closer to his ultimate goal of winning eight golds in a single Olympics when he touched the wall first in one minute 54.23 seconds, 0.57 inside his previous record of 1:54.80 set at last month's U.S. Olympic trials.

Hungary's Laszlo Cseh finished second in 1:56.52 to collect his third silver medal behind Phelps this week.

Phelps's American team mate Ryan Lochte finished third in 1:56.53 despite diving back into the pool half an hour after he broke the 200 backstroke world record to win his first individual gold.

Phelps took control of the race from the start, charging through the first lap of butterfly more than half a second under world record pace.

He maintained that advantage after the second backstroke leg and although he lost a little ground on the breaststroke, his weakest stroke, he was still ahead and able to surge clear of his rivals in the concluding freestyle lap.

"I just wanted to step on it in the first 50 a little bit and try and get out to an early lead," Phelps said. "I knew that was a hard double for Ryan.

"I knew in the first half if I got a big enough lead I though I could hang on and that's all I wanted to do."

In any other era Cseh, who also finished second behind Phelps in the 400 individual medley and 200 butterfly, and Lochte might have won a stack of golds themselves but were gracious in defeat.

"If he (Phelps) wasn't in this sport and swimming I don't think I'd be as good," Lochte said.

"He is up there and he makes me become better and stronger in training. Without him I wouldn't be standing here today."

(Additional reporting by Martin Petty)

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)