 In his first event at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Lochte swam the second leg of the men's 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay in a time of 47.03. He earned a gold medal in the event along with Phelps, Matt Grevers, and Nathan Adrian. The final time of 3: 09.21 was a championship record and just ahead of Russia (3: 09.52) and France (3: 09.89). With Phelps not competing in the 200 or 400-meter individual medley at these championships, Lochte won the gold in both events. In the 200-meter individual medley, Lochte broke Phelps' world record of 1: 54.23 with a time of 1: 54.10. In the 200-meter backstroke, Lochte won the bronze medal, finishing behind Peirsol and Ryosuke Irie of Japan. In the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay final, Lochte swam the anchor leg in 1: 44.46. Combined with Phelps, Berens, and David Walters, Lochte won the gold medal and his team broke the previous world record by one-hundredth of a second with a time of 6: 58.55.
