Gwangju (South Korea): Michael Phelps paid tribute to Hungarian teenager Kristof Milak's "beautiful technique" after he took down the American legend's long-standing 200 metres butterfly record at the World Championships here.

Phelps described Milak's time of one minute, 50.73 seconds in Gwangju as "incredible", although he admitted his astonishment was tinged with sadness at losing a world record which had stood since 2009.