Michael Phelps won the 100m butterfly final at the US swimming trials in Omaha as rival Ryan Lochte missed out on Olympic qualification for the event.
Phelps started slowly but caught Tyler McGill to win in 51.14 seconds – the world’s fastest time this year.
McGill takes the second Olympic spot, while Phelps can now race in eight events in London.
It completed a treble of wins for Phelps over Lochte, though Lochte does not usually compete in the discipline.
Phelps was less than satisfied with his pace, but was at least pleased to have proven his ability to continue competing in multiple events.
“It shows that I can do the kind of event programme like this at a high level again,” he said.
McGill took second in 51.32secs, with Lochte close behind in 51.65secs.
Phelps finished first in the 200m individual medley final and the 200m freestyle final, earlier in the trials, while Lochte beat Phelps in the 400m individual medley final and also won the 200m backstroke final.
Phelps set a world record in 2008 when he won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics and 14 in total, plus two bronze.
Missy Franklin, 17, is set to become the first US woman to swim in seven events at the Games after she won the 200m backstroke in 2:06.12.
“I felt really strong. It really hurts so bad at the end but if it doesn’t then you’re not doing it right,” she said.
“I can’t believe I have seven events. It’s so overwhelming but so exciting at the same time.”
