Phelps produces more magic for another gold

Michael Phelps won the 17th Olympic gold medal of his career, and his 21st overall, when he produced a majestic performance in the 100m butterfly.

It was the final individual race of the 27-year-old’s career, which will end tonight in the medley relay.

Last night, the Baltimore swimmer was seventh at halfway, with nemesis Milorad Cavic first, before the American produced a customary storming final length to touch in 51.21secs.

“I’m just happy that the last one was a win,” Phelps said. “That’s all I really wanted coming into the night.”

Chad le Clos, who had relegated Phelps to second in the 200m butterfly earlier this week, was second.

Even though Phelps didn’t go as fast in the final as he did in the semi-final, he actually won by a relatively comfortable margin compared to his two previous Olympic wins in this event — by four-hundredths of a second over Ian Crocker in 2004 and by one-hundredth of a second — the closest race possible — against Serbia’s Milorad Cavic at the Beijing Games four years ago.

Meanwhile, France’s Florent Manaudou won the 50m freestyle from lane two in 21.34 seconds, ahead of the United States’ Cullen Jones and defending champion and world record holder Cesar Cielo.

Elsewhere, American sensation Missy Franklin won the 200m backstroke in a new world record.

Franklin lowered Kirsty Coventry’s world record set at the height of the shiny suit chaos in 2009 by 0.75secs to 2:04.06.

“I can’t believe what just happened,” said Franklin, who had dedicated her Olympics to victims of the cinema shooting not far from her Colorado home. “In that last 25, I knew I was giving it everything I had because I couldn’t feel my arms and legs and I was just trying to get my hand to the wall as fast I could.”

Also on the night, Team GB hopeful Rebecca Adlington claimed her second bronze medal of the London Olympics as 15-year-old Katie Ledecky produced the second fastest 800m freestyle in history to take gold for the United States.

Ledecky led from start to finish as the expected duel between Britain’s Adlington and Denmark’s Lotte Friis failed to materialise.

Instead, Ledecky went straight out and moved further ahead from the halfway stage, under world record pace all the way until the final metres to touch in 8:14.63, with only Adlington ever having gone faster, in Beijing.

With 200m to go, Spaniard Mireia Belmonte Garcia attacked to overhaul Adlington and finish second in 8:18.76.

Adlington picked up her second third place of the week, following her 400m bronze, touching in 8:20.32.

Ledecky’s gold meant the United States had won every title so far of the session.