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WOW! at least he has 14 medals..
London (CNN) -- Ryan Lochte captured America's first gold medal of the 2012 Olympic games, soundly defeating rival U.S. swimming icon Michael Phelps on Saturday in the highly anticipated men's 400-meter individual medley -- a race that combines four different strokes.
Brazil's Thiago Pereira secured the silver medal, while Phelps did not medal, coming in fourth place. Japan's Kosuke Hagina won bronze.
"I put the work in," Lochte said after the race. "I'm just going out there and having fun, and doing what I do best."
Both men had made it through qualifying heats to the final -- Phelps only by a whisker.
His slightly below-par performance put the former champion in lane 8 rather than in the preferred middle lanes, where there's less chance of disruption from other swimmers' waves.
Lochte was in lane 3.
The 27-year-old Phelps, who already has 14 gold medals from previous Games, had been looking to add to his pot of Olympic gold, but the Games' attention quickly shifted to Lochte's dominating Saturday performance.
"I know it's my time and I'm ready," said Lochte.
