Michael Phelps smiles with the gold medal he earned for winning the men's 200-meter butterfly final at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia, today. Phelps set the world record with a time of 1 minute, 52.09 seconds.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Michael Phelps' plan of zooming to the lead and leaving everyone in his wake is working perfectly.

The American earned his third gold medal with another world record at the world swimming championships today.

Phelps lowered his standard in the 200-meter butterfly, winning with the same get-out-fast and blow 'em away strategy he used in taking the 200 freestyle a night earlier.

"I feel like a 12-year-old, being able to drop more than a second off my best time," the 21-year-old superstar said. "I'm showing I'm in solid shape now."

The United States owns a leading 14 medals halfway through the eight-day meet, including eight golds. Australia has eight medals and three golds.

For the second straight night, Phelps raced to the lead in the 200 butterfly and stayed there, touching in 1 minute, 52.09 seconds. That was faster than the 1:53.71 he swam at a meet in Columbia, Mo., on Feb. 17.

"I shocked myself," Phelps said. "I didn't know I would be that far under it."

Phelps simply crushed his rivals, beating silver medalist Wu Peng of China by 3.04 seconds. Phelps already owned the seven fastest times in history in the event.

He was under world-record pace the entire race, and extended his lead at every turn.

At 100 meters, he dipped 1.65 seconds under his mark and stretched it to an amazing 1.78 seconds through 150 meters as fans in Rod Laver Arena cheered louder and louder.

Phelps was going so fast, the red line that tracks world record pace was behind him. He cruised home nearly two body lengths and a world away from Wu, who finished in 1:55.13 for China's first medal of the meet.

"He is simply way too fast, way too fast," Wu said through a translator. "I couldn't see him."

Nikolay Skvortsov of Russia took the bronze.

Phelps hit the wall, turned around and raised both index fingers in the air, signaling his two world records so far.

"I had a world record in mind after breaking it in Missouri. That was my goal tonight," he said. "I wanted to do what I did last night — take it out."

Phelps is 3-for-3, with victories in the 400 freestyle relay, the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly. He set a world record in defeating Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands by 2Z\x seconds in the 200 freestyle Tuesday.