IRVINE, Calif. » World and Olympic champion Michael Phelps won the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. national swimming championships last night with the fastest time in the world this year.

Phelps led all the way and touched in 50.65 seconds, easily topping the previous quickest time of 51.70 set by Evgeny Korotyshkin of Russia.

"I was real happy," he said. "I wanted to put some distance between my time and the fastest in the world."

Tyler McGill was second in 52.20, and Timothy Phillips took third.

The men’s 50 freestyle was swum under protest, with Olympian Nathan Adrian declared the winner in 21.70 seconds. Olympian Cullen Jones and Josh Schneider tied for second, but the results were not immediately declared official.

The controversy involved Schneider, who was entered in the morning heats of the 100 butterfly and 50 free. He failed to scratch out of the 100 fly, which according to the rules meant he was ineligible to swim his next event, the 50 free.

But he swam the 50 free heats and then swam the final under protest. Schneider’s entry into the final bumped Jimmy Feigen from the ‘A’ final to the consolation final.

World champion Rebecca Soni won the 100 breaststroke with the world’s fastest time.

Soni was second at the turn, then poured it on down the stretch to win easily in 1 minute, 5.73 seconds.

Second-place Ann Chandler touched in 1:08.07. Micah Lawrence was third.

Soni trounced a loaded field that included world recordholder Jessica Hardy, who led at the turn before fading to seventh; 2000 Olympic champion Megan Jendrick; and 1996 Olympic silver medalist Amanda Beard. Jendrick was fourth and Beard sixth.

Olympian Kara Lynn Joyce won the 50 free in 24.86, just the second national title of her career. She won her first four years ago.

Madison Kennedy was second in 25.15. Olympian Amanda Weir was third.

Caitlin Leverenz won the 400 individual medley in 4:35.60. Ariana Kukors was second and American record holder Katie Hoff was third.