Lochte grabs 200m backstroke gold

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Video - Lochte takes backstroke gold

Ryan Lochte of the US won his first individual Olympic gold medal and broke the world record on the way as he took the men's 200m backstroke title.

He held onto the lead in a tight finish to set a new world best of 1min 53.94secs, ahead of compatriot Aaron Peirsol and Russia's Arkady Vyatchanin.

Lochte shaved 0.38 off the previous world record of 1:54.32 which he had held jointly with Peirsol.

Britain's Gregor Tait struggled with the fierce pace and finished eighth.

Lochte was also a member of the successful US 4x200m freestyle relay team.

"I touched the wall and was like, 'Thank you, finally,'" he said. "It felt good the whole way."

Peirsol said: "That's the theme of the meet. You have to break a world record to win. I gave it my all and I had nothing left.

"I'm very proud of what I've done. Ryan swam well. He earned it."