Phelps wins 10th career gold medal

BEIJING (Reuters) - Michael Phelps overcame his goggles filling with water to become the first Olympian to win 10 career gold medals when he won the men's 200 meters butterfly in world record time at Beijing's Water Cube on Wednesday.

The victory was Phelps' fourth at this Games. He has now eclipsed compatriots Carl Lewis and Mark Spitz, Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi and Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina, who all won nine.

Phelps touched in 1:52.03, Hungarian Laszlo Cseh took the silver medal and Japan's Takeshi Matsuda the bronze as the American bettered his previous world record time, set at the world championships in Melbourne last year, by 0.06 seconds.

Phelps, who won six golds in Athens four years ago, has a chance to continue his gold rush when he takes part in the 4x200 meters relay later on Wednesday.

The Baltimore-born Phelps trailed New Zealander Moss Burmester at the 50-metre mark but then took charge from the half-way stage to keep alive his dream of surpassing Spitz's record of seven golds in a single Games.

Phelps said he had been disturbed by a problem with his goggles and was typically nonchalant about his result.

"My goggles filled up with water all the time and I had difficulty seeing the walls," he told reporters. "I wanted a world record, I wanted a 1.51 or better but under the circumstances, it's not a bad result."

The 22-year-old Cseh also finished second to Phelps in the 400 meters individual medley on Sunday but was delighted with his result.

"I'm very happy, it was an awesome race, I'm really happy with that. I just wanted to do my own stuff but I had my eyes on him," said the Hungarian, who added that Phelps may yet be beatable in butterfly.

"Maybe he is, maybe I could do it, if I focused on my butterfly," he said.

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

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