Phelps cruises to 200m freestyle victory at Canada Cup

American swimming star Michael Phelps easily won the 200 metre freestyle, finishing more than two seconds ahead of compatriot Matthew Patton at the Canada Cup swim event. The 14-time Olympic gold medallist on Saturday clocked one minute, 47.46 seconds for the win with Patton finishing second at 1:49.87. Canada's Ryan Cochrane was third in 1:50.08. "I didn’t feel I really had it in the first 100," said Phelps. "Usually that part of the race is a bit smoother for me. "Speed has always been something easy for me to achieve and I’m also trying to get my endurance back. So this makes this a bit more challenging."Competition ends Sunday in the Canada Cup which is a tune up for the World Championships in two weeks in Shanghai, China. Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and set seven world records, becoming the most decorated Olympic athlete in history. In 2009, a British tabloid published a photo of Phelps using a marijuana pipe, resulting in a three-month suspension by USA Swimming. Other winners in men's competition included Scott Dickens of Canada in the 100 breaststroke and Matt Hawes of Canada in the 100 backstroke. On the women's side, Canada's Katerine Savard won the 50-metre butterfly and compatriot Tera Van Beilen finished first in the 100 breaststroke.