Michael Phelps

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. - A central Indiana teenager who insisted for weeks that he hadn’t intended to kill a former classmate admitted in court yesterday that he had hoped the shots he fired would be fatal, bringing a swift end to his trial. Michael Phelps, 16, softly answered “Yes, sir,’’ when defense attorney Steven Litz asked him if he had intended to kill 15-year-old Chance Jackson in the March 25 shooting at Martinsville West Middle School. Jackson survived the attack.

Michael Phelps finished at Indianapolis just the way he wanted — with another resounding victory. On an emotional night for the 26-year-old swimmer and his family, Phelps beat his biggest rival by more than three seconds and swam the best 200 IM in the world this year, beating the previous best time by nearly two seconds. He won the race in a startling 1 minute, 56.32 seconds. This was no ordinary race for Phelps, who made his first Olympic team in 2000 at Indy and broke two world records at the IUPUI Natatorium.

If Missy Franklin's mind wanders as she sits in her advanced placement literature class this week in suburban Denver, the 16-year-old swimmer will have plenty of summer memories to entertain her. Maybe she'll remember winning three gold medals at her first world championships in China. Or setting two American records in the process. Or being presented with a $20,000 check as the top points earner on the grand prix circuit, beating out the likes of Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.

This was one strange night at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Ryan Lochte won two consolation heats, Michael Phelps drew two sharp rebukes from his longtime coach and even a torn pair of swimming trunks couldn't prevent Nathan Adrian from holding off the hard-charging Phelps in the 100-meter freestyle Thursday. It was no typical swimming session at the IUPUI Natatorium. "That's never happened, not even in practice," an embarrassed Adrian said after the win, explaining he heard the snap of the trunks as he was pushing off the starting block.

BEIJING - Quick quiz: What has 13 letters and means global phenomenon? Easy. Answer: Michael Phelps. The Beijing Olympics have belonged to one man, a 23-year-old American swimmer from Baltimore who has become a household name from the Philippines to Peru and Cairo to Caracas. With his sensational gold medal and world record haul so far, Phelps has transcended Olympic sports and exploded into the planet's consciousness as a once-in-a-lifetime supernova. "He doesn't swim - he flies," said the sports daily Ole in Argentina.

Olympic great Michael Phelps acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo in a British newspaper yesterday showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe. In a statement to the Associated Press, the swimmer who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games did not dispute the authenticity of the exclusive picture published by the tabloid News of the World. "I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said in the statement released by one of his agents.

Michael Phelps is the latest athlete to use a hyperbaric chamber to aid his recovery from training. The 16-time Olympic medalist said Wednesday he had been sleeping "at 8,000 feet every night" for almost a year. The 26-year-old swimmer noticed he bounced back from workouts better when he trained at altitude, so he's trying a device that simulates that. "We've been able to realize after going to Colorado Springs so many times that it is something that helps me recover," Phelps said.

BALTIMORE - Michael Phelps says it's fair for USA Swimming to suspend him for three months, the latest fallout from a photo showing the Olympic great inhaling from a marijuana pipe. Phelps was back training at his regular pool yesterday, a day after his suspension. "It's not my decision. It's theirs," Phelps said. "I have nothing to say, but if that's what they want to do, that's their choice. It's something that USA Swimming came up with. It's fair. Obviously, for a mistake you should get punished.

MELBOURNE -- Ian Crocker's eagerness to get back in the pool after losing to Michael Phelps ended up costing his teammate a shot at history -- and more gold. The US team was shockingly disqualified in the 400-meter medley relay preliminaries today, spoiling Phelps's bid for a record eight gold medals. Crocker dived in for the butterfly leg before Scott Usher completed his breaststroke, resulting in the DQ. "Just an unlucky exchange," anchor Neil Walker said. Phelps was counting on the morning crew earning a spot in the evening final, which he, breaststroker...

ROME - Michael Phelps sure looked out of place. After bending over to accept a medal he wanted no part of, then listening to another swimmer’s national anthem, Phelps tried to make his getaway. Not so fast - there were still pictures to take. So he straggled back to the top step of the awards stand, the place he knows so well. This time, it was already occupied. Phelps stood off to the side while Paul Biedermann was the center of attention and photographers snapped away.

Michael Phelps is the latest athlete to use a hyperbaric chamber to aid his recovery from training. The 16-time Olympic medalist said Wednesday he had been sleeping "at 8,000 feet every night" for almost a year. The 26-year-old swimmer noticed he bounced back from workouts better when he trained at altitude, so he's trying a device that simulates that. "We've been able to realize after going to Colorado Springs so many times that it is something that helps me recover," Phelps said.

Michael Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle and 100 butterfly at the Minneapolis Grand Prix on Friday night at the University of Minnesota. Phelps pulled away from an impressive field for the 200, finishing in 1 minute, 46.88 seconds. He completed the 100 butterfly in 52.26. The 14-time Olympic gold medal winner is the world record-holder in the 100 butterfly. Phelps' anticipated matchup with Ryan Lochte in the two events never materialized. Lochte finished third in the consolation final of the 200 freestyle and was eighth in the championship heat...

If Missy Franklin's mind wanders as she sits in her advanced placement literature class this week in suburban Denver, the 16-year-old swimmer will have plenty of summer memories to entertain her. Maybe she'll remember winning three gold medals at her first world championships in China. Or setting two American records in the process. Or being presented with a $20,000 check as the top points earner on the grand prix circuit, beating out the likes of Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.

SHANGHAI - Michael Phelps easily won the 100-meter butterfly, then ceded the spotlight to 16-year-old Missy Franklin, swimming's newest breakout star, who made a splash on her final night at the world championships. Without Milorad Cavic pushing him, Phelps scowled upon seeing his time of 50.71 seconds last night. Too slow for his liking, it was still good enough to earn him a second individual gold medal and his sixth overall with one day remaining in the meet. Franklin won two more golds to leave the worlds with five medals overall - three gold, a...

Michael Phelps easily won the 100-meter butterfly, then ceded the spotlight to Missy Franklin, swimming's newest breakout star who made a splash on her final night at the world championships. Without Milorad Cavic pushing him, Phelps scowled upon seeing his time of 50.71 seconds Saturday night. Too slow for his liking, it was still good enough to earn him a second individual gold medal and his sixth overall with one day remaining in the meet. Franklin won two more golds to leave the worlds with five medals overall — three gold, a silver and a...

Ryan Lochte rescued the United States from impending defeat in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the world championships with a gutty swim after he won the 200 backstroke. There's not much he hasn't done this week, collecting five medals — four gold — and the only world record so far. That kind of success used to be the domain of Michael Phelps. Now it's Lochte's world and Phelps is just swimming in his wake. "If you go by medals alone, I would say yes. It's a definite change of the guard," said American Tyler Clary, third in the 200 back.

Michael Phelps is dominating digital interest in the Olympics as much as he is the gold medal count. More than 2 million people have clicked on NBCOlympics.com to watch a video replay of the thrilling men's 4 x 100-meter swimming relay, where the Americans scored a come-from-behind victory over the French. Phelps won gold for his role in the relay, although it was teammate Jason Lezak's surge at the end that was the indelible image. That race alone accounts for more than 40 percent of the nearly 5 million video on demand orders from the website, NBC Universal said yesterday.

SHANGHAI - The world has seen this sort of performance, plenty of times, from Michael Phelps. Trailing at the halfway point. A huge push off the wall, a massive surge underwater. Suddenly, the lead. A strong finish. A gold medal. The world saw it again last night, only Phelps wasn't the guy who did it. Phelps was the guy who lost the lead. Fellow American Ryan Lochte overtook Phelps, the defending Olympic champion, and held off Germany's Paul Biedermann, the defending world champion, to win the 200-meter freestyle at the swimming world championships in 1...

SHANGHAI - The world has seen this sort of performance, plenty of times, from Michael Phelps. Trailing at the halfway point. A huge push off the wall, a massive surge underwater. Suddenly, the lead. A strong finish. A gold medal. The world saw it again last night, only Phelps wasn't the guy who did it. Phelps was the guy who lost the lead. Fellow American Ryan Lochte overtook Phelps, the defending Olympic champion, and held off Germany's Paul Biedermann, the defending world champion, to win the 200-meter freestyle at the swimming world championships in 1 minute 44.44...

Thiago Pereira of Brazil qualified fastest for the 200-meter individual medley at the world championships Wednesday, with Americans Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps advancing despite feeling the pain of their showdown in the 200 freestyle. Pereira clocked 1 minute, 57.82 seconds, while David Verraszto of Hungary was second at 1:58.69. Kenneth To of Australia was third at 1:59.02. Defending champion Lochte was fourth-quickest in 1:59.04, while Phelps was eighth in 1:59.58. Those two have won the past four titles at worlds, with Phelps winning three...