There was blue sky today in Beijing after day upon day of haze, cloud and rain. It was as if the aquatic gods had sent the storm packing in order to tell Superfish: "all plain-sailing from here on". Not quite that simple, of course. There's a job to be done, step-by-step. Another giant stride is taken. Six gold medals, six world records and qualification for the 100m butterfly final that on Saturday should take Michael Phelps of the United States level with Mark Spitz on a record seven gold medals.

Phelps blasted off his blocks in the 200m medley, cruised into his stroke ahead of the pack and floated on the butterfly towards a first turn that took him 0.57sec inside world-record pace. Coach Bob Bowman's notes rang out with beautiful precision: 0.57sec, a sum that Phelps would race inside the world record pace three times during the 200m medley final that brought a sixth gold medal and sixth global standard.

The Water Cube has now witnessed 21 world records, while 48 global standard have fallen in the long-course pool since the launch of the new generation of performance-enhancing bodysuits in February. Phelps has now broken 25 solo world records, one shy of Mark Spitz's all-time record of 26.

In the medley, Laszlo Cseh (Hungary) collected his third silver medal behind Phelps, in 1:56.52, a European record and just 0.01sec ahead of Ryan Lochte (US), who some 20 minutes before had claimed the 200m backstroke crown in a world record of 1:53.97.

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Why didn't they ring me up before they decided to hold the Olympic Games in Beijing in August? Don't do it, I'd have said

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What are the odds on Phelps swimming precisely 0.57sec inside his previous best throughout the entire race, deviating from that path by just 0.1sec after breaststroke? And on breaststroke - what a split: 33.50, the fastest in the final and faster than the third-length split of three men in the 200m breaststroke final. Half a second from the speed of champion Kosuke Kitajima, the greatest specialist in his stroke ever seen, and faster than Kitajima's homecoming split. The decibels gushing from Phelps here at the Water Cube are in danger of bursting the 3,000 breathable bubbles above and around us.

Bowman senses better than any where weakness may lie and we will hear his assessment of it all when he finally gets a chance to turn to the crowd and take a much-deserved bow on Sunday morning. But it seemed today that Phelps is a man with no weaknesses.

Within five minutes of the race, Lochte was receiving his gold medal for the 200m backstroke; within 25 minutes Phelps was back on his blocks for the 100m butterfly semis, via a tour of the podium, another teary eyed salute to the Star Spangled Banner and pool parade. A slight delay was announced to allow Phelps his statutory rest period of 20 minutes. In 50.97, Phelps did just enough to take him into the final. Milorad Cavic (Serbia) was 0.05sec ahead of him, for lane four, the world record holder and team-mate Ian Crocker 0.3sec behind him.

Lochte ensured that American team-mate and defending champion Aaron Peirsol did not match East German Roland Matthes's double double of backstroke victories (100m and 200m, 1968 and 1972) by taking down the world record in the 200m backstroke in 1:53.94.

The first sub-1:54 effort helped Lochte reclaim the world record for his own, Peirsol having joined him on a 1:54.32 at US trials in Omaha on July 4. Peirsol took silver in 1:54.33, the bronze going to Arkady Vyatchanin in 1:54.93. The Russian, who had held the continental standard at 1:55.44, raced in lane 8 on the outside, and inside world record pace at 50m, 100m and 150m before succumbing to the Americans on the way home. Lochte now has two gold medals, one from the 4x200m freestyle relay, and two bronzes, from the 200m and 400m medley. An amazing tally - but meagre in the light of Phelps.

Phelps's first words after the morning session were reserved for Lochte: "Backing up 200m backstroke and 200m medley is one of the hardest things you could do. He did an amazing job...".

So did Rebecca Soni (US), who ended Leisel Jones's dream of the breaststroke double when she took down the world record in 2:20.22, a best time by 2.4sec. Jones, the Australian, came in to the Games with a two-second advantage but where Soni took two strokes forward, Jones took two backwards, taking silver in 2:22.05. The bronze went to Sara Nordenstam or Norway in 2:23.02.

Soni joined Briton Anita Lonsbrough in 1960; Marina Koshevaia of Russia in 1976; and Silke Hoerner (GDR), 20 years ago on the list of those who have won gold in world-record time. Last year, 2:23.36 was Soni's best. It was 2:22.60 coming into the meet.