Ryan Lochte of the U.S. competes in the men's 100m butterfly semifinals during the FINA World Swimming Championships in Istanbul December 12, 2012.MURAD SEZER/Reuters
Olympic star Ryan Lochte won two gold medals Wednesday as the United States dominated the first day of the short-course world championships.
The American posted a time of 1 minute, 41.92 seconds in the 200-meter freestyle event at the Sinan Erdem Dome. Paul Biedermann of Germany, the world record holder, finished second in 1:42.07, while Conor Dwyer of the United States was third in 1:43.78.
Lochte earned another gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay with teammates Anthony Ervin, James Feigen and Matt Grevers, finishing in 3:06.40. The Italians, who were fastest in the heats, won silver in 3:07.07, followed by Australia in 3:07.27.
Lochte won six gold medals and one silver when Dubai hosted the short-course championships in 2010. He won five medals at the London Olympics, including two golds.
In women's competition, the U.S. team of Megan Romano, Chelsea Chenault, Shannon Vreeland and Allison Schmitt won the 4x200 freestyle relay in 7:39.25. Russia was second in 7:42.77. China, the defending champion, was third in 7:43.26.
Katinka Hosszu of Hungary won the 200 butterfly in 2:02.20, setting a championships record. Katerine Savard of Pont-Rouge, Que., was sixth.
Less than 15 minutes after Hosszu received her medal, she was back in the pool for the 400 individual medley and won bronze in 4:25.95. Winner Hannah Miley of Britain set a championship record of 4:23.14 and Shiwen Ye of China won silver in 4:23.33.
Tera Van Beilen of Oakville, Ont., did not qualify for the women's 50-metre breaststroke final. She finished last in the 16-woman semifinal heat.
The biennial championships end Sunday. Julio Maglione, president of swimming's governing body FINA, said the Istanbul championships have the largest number of countries (162) and athletes (958).
With files from The Canadian Press