Phelps swims 'wrong' butterfly stroke in 50m freestyle event

American swimming sensation Michael Phelps had reportedly swum the wrong stroke in the heats of the 50m freestyle at the Mesa Grand Prix swim meet, which is his first competitive event in 20 months under his belt.

The 18-time Olympic gold medallist opted to swim butterfly in the 50m freestyle preliminaries, making it more of a training run than a race.

According to News.com.au, although Phelps' time of 24.06 seconds put him seventh in his heat and 42nd overall, but his coach Bob Bowman had indicated they hoped it would give Phelps a chance to polish his technique and gauge his speed over one lap of butterfly.

Phelps, who has never been known for his prowess in one-lap sprints despite his countless achievements, said that he feels that the 50 m race is 'kind of weird' and explained he decided to swim butterfly after the coach said that the event could be the 'first and the last of his career'.

The event came a day after Phelps launched his comeback to competition with a runner-up finish behind old rival Ryan Lochte in the 100m butterfly, which he won to post the fastest qualifying time in his first race since the 2012 London Games, the report added.