He got off to a stronger start

Lochte won the mac mascara 400 individual medley on the opening night of the games, his third straight major victory over the winningest Olympian ever. But Phelps isn't going down that easily. He got off to a stronger start that usual, leading at the first turn and holding the advantage through all four laps. Both swimmers got a big boost off the final turn, cutting through the water like missiles, and Lochte went stroke for stroke down the stretch. But Phelps stretched out his right arm at the wall, touching just ahead of Lochte. The winning time was 1 minute, 45.70 seconds — five-hundredths of a second ahead of Lochte. ''Obviously it's been a while, so it felt mac pencil better'' to beat Lochte, Phelps said. ''But there's still some things I can improve on.'' Phelps' victory was even more impressive given his busy night. He didn't even have time to celebrate, hustling back to the warm-down pool to get ready for the semifinals of the 200 butterfly. He came back 40 minutes later to post the third-fastest qualifying time, moving on to Thursday night's final looking to lock up a chance to defend the gold he won at the last two Olympics. ''I feel old,'' the 26-year-old Phelps mac pigment eyeshadow quipped. ''Just getting in the water to race is what motivates me.''