( CNN ) -- A dramatic fightback from Ryan Lochte secured a thrilling victory over Olympic champion Michael Phelps in the men 's 200m freestyle at the World Championships in Shanghai . Lochte trailed fellow American Phelps at the halfway stage but battled back to win in a time of one minute , 44.44 seconds compared to his rival 's 1:44.79 . Defending champion Paul Biedermann , from Germany , claimed the bronze medal in a strong field . It was Lochte 's eighth gold at the World Championships but his first at the 200m distance , and handed him a major boost with only a year to go until the 2012 Olympics in London . `` Michael and I have been battling head to head for about eight years , '' Lochte told FINA 's official web site after his victory . `` We definitely build a good rivalry ; he 's a great competitor and I am just privileged to swim on the same team , even in the same event as him . `` Today , at this level we 're at , we both want to win , we do n't like to lose and no matter what the outcome is , we 're still going to be friends and we 're definitely going to be pushing each other for 2012 . '' Phelps emphasized the quality of the competition and said he is starting to recapture the form that has seen him bag 16 Olympic gold medals to date . `` That was probably one of the best 200 freestyle fields and that was a close field ; five guys in the 1.45 , that 's pretty good , '' he told FINA 's web site . `` I would have wanted to win but this is something that is going to help me a lot for the next year . '' He also said a lack of training has contributed to a dip in his performances . `` The reason why I have n't been able to swim as fast as I wanted to in the last couple of years , it 's all my fault . `` If I would have trained like I was supposed to for as long as I am supposed to , on a consistent level , I would be swimming where I want to swim . But now , I am sort of coming back to my old self . '' There was an even closer finish in the men 's 100m backstroke , when French pair Camille Lacourt and Jeremy Stravius shared the gold medal after both recorded a time of 52.76 . It is the first time ever two swimmers from the same country have tied in a dead heat for first place . It was also France 's first ever male title in the championships . Elsewhere , China 's Zhao Jing won a gripping women 's 100m backstroke final , beating Russia 's Anastasia Zueva by just one one-hundredth of a second . American Natalie Coughlin took the bronze medal . Rebecca Soni , from the United States , successfully defended her women 's 100m breaststroke title , beating Australian Olympic champion Leisel Jones and China 's Ji Liping who took silver and bronze . A dominant performance from Denmark 's Lotte Friis secured the women 's 1,500 freestyle final . American Kate Ziegler took silver and China 's Xuanxu Li the bronze .
Ryan Lochte beats Michael Phelps to claim men 's 100 m freestyle title . American Phelps beats Olympic champion Phelps by three hundredths of a second . French pair Camille Lacourt and Jeremy Smith share the men 's 100 m backstroke gold . China 's Zhao Jing wins the women 's 100 m butterfly final .