Phelps was second after the fly, behind Thiago Pereira of Brazil. He was tied for second with Pereira after the backstroke, behind Ryan Lochte. Phelps pulled ahead on the breaststroke leg and pulled away on the freestyle.

His teammate Lochte, who has spent most of his career in Phelps’s wake, finished fifth, behind Japan’s Kosuke Hagino, China’s Wang Shun and Japan’s Hiromasa Fujimori. Phelps had no time to relish his result; he had to return to the pool roughly 30 minutes later for the semifinals of the 100 butterfly, the other event where he is the three-time defending champion.