Rome, Italy (My Sportsbook) - Michael Phelps was beaten at the World Swim Championships on Tuesday, losing to Germany's Paul Biedermann in the final of the men's 200-meter freestyle.

Biedermann set the 12th world record of the 2009 championships, finishing in a time of one minute, 42 seconds. Phelps, who set the previous mark of 1:42.96 at last year's Beijing Olympics, finished a full body length behind in second place at 1:43.22.

The defeat was the first for Phelps in a major individual race since losing to Ian Crocker in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2005 Worlds.

American Rebecca Soni won the women's 100-meter breaststroke in a time of one minute, 4.93 seconds, topping Russia's Yuliya Efimova by .48 seconds for the title. Kasey Carlson of the United States finished third, .82 seconds off the winning time.

Also Tuesday, Great Britain's Gemma Spofforth captured the women's 100-meter backstroke with a world record time of 58.12 seconds, shattering the previous mark of 58.48 seconds set by Russia's Anastasia Zueva in a Monday heat. Zueva finished second in Tuesday's final at 58.18. American Hayley McGregory was sixth.

Italy's Alessia Filippi thrilled the home crowd by winning the women's 1,500- meter freestyle. She finished in a time of 15 minutes, 44.93 seconds. American Chloe Sutton was last in the field of eight.

Japan's Junya Koga won the men's 100-meter backstroke in a time of 52.26 seconds to set a championship record. American Matt Grevers was seventh, 0.88 seconds behind the winning time.