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Austin - Ryan Lochte came out on top in his latest head-to-head showdown with Olympic swim star Michael Phelps on Sunday with a triumph in the 200m individual medley at the Austin Grand Prix.
Lochte finished in 1min, 59.26sec, well outside his world record of 1:54:10.
Breaststroke specialist Eric Shanteau edged Phelps to finish second in 2:01:13 with Phelps third.
"This is a great stepping stone," said Lochte, who delivered a dominating 2010 season but has said he expects Phelps to reassert himself with the World Championships approaching later this year and the 2012 London Olympics on the horizon.
"It's good preparation for what's coming later on," Lochte said. "It's a good way to start off the New Year."
Canada's Brent Hayden won the 100 freestyle in 49.91sec. Lochte clocked 50.08 to edge David Walters for second place, while Phelps won the consolation final in 50.09 - a time that would have tied him for third with Walters had he managed to qualify for the final.
"I'm disappointed," Phelps said. "Obviously, I need more training. We're all just trying to catch up to (Lochte). The level he's swimming at right now is extremely high.
"But it's good to be here and see how everybody else is doing and how poorly I think I'm doing. This will give me a lot of motivation for the next couple of months."
Phelps, owner of 14 Olympic gold medals, characterised his meet as "average," but said he's to head to training camp in Colorado in February.
"(The meet) was nothing exciting, but it's better than what I really expected, so I think that's a good thing," Phelps said.
Meanwhile 15-year-old Missy Franklin enjoyed another banner night, winning three of the evening's four women's individual finals.
Franklin clocked 55.48 to win the 100m free ahead of Olympian Katie Hoff and also won the 200m individual medley and 200m backstroke.
"I'm pretty exhausted," said Franklin, who nabbed a total of five titles here. "Tonight I wasn't focused on place. I was focused on coming in and feeling my stroke, trying to get a good rhythm going and do the best that I could. I'm really happy with my performance."
Franklin said that if she maintains her momentum and emerges as the top point-getter in the seven-meeting Grand Prix series, she'll turn down the 20,000 dollar prize to stay eligible to compete for an American university.
"College is an opportunity that's too good to pass up," Franklin said.
