Michael Phelps eases his way through to 200m butterfly semi-finals

Michael Phelps preferred to conserve his energy rather than make a statement as he finished third in his heat in the 200m butterfly on Monday morning. The American practically owns this event, having won the 200m butterfly at every Olympic Games and World Championships he has swam in since 2001. But after Sunday's impressive exertions in the second leg of the 4x100m freestyle relay final in which the United States took silver, Phelps took it easy, finishing in a time of 1min 55.53sec – more than four seconds outside his world record – and behind Austrian Dinko Jukic (1:54.79) and compatriot Tyler Clary (1:54.96). The time, the fifth fastest overall over the five heats, ensured Phelps had safe passage to Monday night's semi-finals. He will be joined there by Nick D'Arcy, who was dropped from the Australian team for Beijing in 2008 after punching a team-mate, Simon Cowley, at a Sydney nightclub while celebrating his Olympic selection. D'Arcy – who was convicted of assault and had to pay Cowley $180,000 damages before being declared bankrupt – has been talked up as a challenger to Phelps in this event. But the Australian looked far from impressive as he finished fifth, although in time that was good enough to get him through. Britain's Joe Roebuck just missed out on the semi-finals by 0.02sec after finishing 17th overall. In the heats of the women's 200m individual medley, Hannah Miley made her customary slow start before finishing fourth in a time of 2.12.27 to book her place in the semi-finals. But Miley – and everyone else for that matter – was made to look pedestrian by the 16-year-old Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen who recorded a time of 2.08.90, just 0.45 outside the Olympic record, despite easing down. In the women's 200m freestyle heats, Britain's Caitlin McClatchey – who finished sixth in the event in Beijing – swam within herself as she won her heat and recorded the seventh fastest time overall to qualify for Monday night's semi-finals. But the fact that she is in a particularly hot event was emphasised with Olympic champion and world record holder Federica Pellegrini, young American Missy Franklin and Sunday night's 400m freestyle gold medallist Camille Muffat all qualifying comfortably.