25 July,2011 08:38 AM IST | | AFP
Swimming superstar Michael Phelps yesterday said that his US team would use the pain of defeat to Australia in the 4x100m freestyle relay as motivation as they hunt Olympic gold next year.
Michael Phelps
The much-vaunted US team saw their seven-year winning streak in world championships and Olympic Games ended as they finished a disappointing third in the showpiece race of the first night of swimming action in Shanghai.
Australia's James Magnussen had the better of 14-time Olympic gold medallist Phelps in the first leg and they kept their grip to consign the United States to their first defeat in the race since the 2004 Olympics. "It's frustrating. As we all said after the race, it's not how we want to start it," said Phelps, whose team finished nearly a second behind Australia's 3min 11.00sec.
