Hackett slices to 800 record

MONTREAL – If Michael Phelps is going to be the star of the World Swimming Championships, he’ll have to fend off Australian Grant Hackett.

Hackett set a world record in the 800-meter freestyle Wednesday night, his second gold and third medal of the championships. His time of 7 minutes, 38.65 seconds broke the mark set four years ago by countryman Ian Thorpe.

Hackett was more than 5 seconds faster than Thorpe’s pace at 600 meters, but it got tight at the end.

When Hackett touched the wall, his head popped out the water and he turned to look at the scoreboard. “Yeah!” he screamed upon seeing the time – 51-hundredths of a second less than Thorpe’s record.

Hackett turned toward the stands and held aloft his right index finger, a proper indicator of his status as the world’s best long-distance freestyler and most prolific medal winner in meet history.

“I have to be on my toes all the time,” said Hackett, savoring his 15th world championship medal – two more than anyone else.

Phelps had his busiest day of the championships, swimming four times to qualify for the finals of the 100 free and 200 individual medley.

“It’s pretty much downhill from here,” Phelps said. “I have a morning to sleep in, then let loose tomorrow night.”

The 20-year-old American is on pace to win seven medals, but Hackett isn’t done, either. The 1,500 free is his signature event and he’ll anchor the Aussies in the 800 free relay, expected to be a spirited battle with Phelps and his U.S. teammates.

Phelps is used to being the biggest thing at the pool, a once-in-a-generation swimmer who can do amazing things every time he dives in. It began with the 2003 championships in Barcelona and continued through the Athens Olympics last summer.

That’s why it was so surprising when he failed to qualify for the final of the 400 freestyle, where he had hoped to challenge Hackett.