American wunderkind Michael Phelps smashes the world record of men's 200 meters freestyle in Melbourne on Tuesday, becoming the first man to swim under one minute and 44 seconds in the event.

After two days competition without world record, Phelps jumped into the first final on Tuesday in sensational shape and finished it amazingly in one minute and 43.86 seconds.

"I had no idea it was possible. I just wanted to do a personal best," Phelps said after smashing Australian big fish Ian Thorpe's six-year-old world record of 1:44.06.

The 21-year-old prodigy confirmed his lead since the first turn and managed to enlarge the gap between him and the flying Dutchman Pieter Van Den Hoogenband at every turn.

"Everything went pretty much close to perfect in that race," said the eight-time Olympic medalist, "I performed very well underwater. I nailed every wall."

The 29-year-old Van Den Hoogenband qualified first in both the preliminary and semifinals, but was totally out of pace in the final where Phelps flied high.

Van Den Hoogenband grabbed the silver by clocking 1:46.28. The prolific sprinter with three Olympic golds were still looking for his first World Championships title.

South Korean teenager Park Tae Hwan could be satisfied with a bronze by finishing the race at 1:46.73. The 17-year-old notched up the opening gold and South Korea's first medal in the 400 meters freestyle final last Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2007)