August 14, 200422 yr ATHENS, Greece -- Michael Phelps won his first Olympic gold medal and broke his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley Saturday night, an impressive start to his quest to eclipse Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven gold medals. Phelps won with a time of 4 minutes, 8.26 seconds, breaking the record of 4:08.41 that he set last month at the U.S. Olympic trials in Long Beach, Calif. The Americans went 1-2. Erik Vendt of North Easton, Mass., duplicated his silver medal performance at the Sydney Games four years ago, though far behind Phelps at 4:11.81. Laszlo Cseh of Hungary claimed bronze in 4:12.15.
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