In his third competitive swimming meet since officially coming out of retirement in April, Phelps added to his programme of swims.

And the tough schedule of races showed today as the American ran out of power towards the end of the 200m to finish in a time of 1 min 59.76sec.

The race was won by Conor Dwyer in 1:59.49, with Chase Kalisz second in 1:59.53.

Phelps gave the Californian crowd plenty to cheer about during the four days of competition, finishing joint first with Tom Shields in the 100m butterfly in a time of 52.11.

The 18-time Olympic gold medallist also came second in both the 100m and 200m freestyle.

Phelps had bowed out of competitive swimming at the London 2012 Olympic Games, at which he won six medals, four of them gold.

The London 2012 Olympic Games had been set to be Michael Phelps' final competitive outing in a glittering career ©Getty Images



But last year he fuelled rumours he was retuning when he re-registered with the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

His first competitive swim in April was at the Arena Grand Prix in Mesa, Arizona.

At that meet, he finished two tenths behind countryman Ryan Lochte in the 100m butterfly final, with a time of 52.13sec.

The 28-year-old said he was undecided about whether he would make his comeback to the sport permanent after that race.

Phelps is expected to compete at the US Nationals and Pan Pacific Championships in August, with a shot at making more Olympic history at Rio 2016 a strong possibility.

With 22 Olympic medals, the swimmer is the most decorated Olympian of all time.