Phelps flops as world records tumble

BERLIN: Michael Phelps admitted Saturday he is in poor form after another disappointing performance saw him finish fifth in the men's 200m butterfly final as world records tumbled here at the short course World Cup meet.

Phelps, who claimed eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, touched the wall in 1 min 54.22 secs behind Russia's Nikolay Skvortsov's winning time of 1: 51.64.

Having finished third in the 100m medley at Stockholm's World Cup meet last week where he missed out on two other finals, Phelps swam in traditional trunks here while some of his rivals wore the modern high-tech swimsuits.