Ryan Lochte set another world record at the short-course world championships yesterday, with the American adding the 200-meter individual medley mark to his 400 record a day earlier.

Lochte left all his competitors far behind, touching in 1 minute, 50.08 seconds to improve on the previous mark set by South Africa’s Darian Townsend by an astounding 1.5 seconds.

“When I was doing backstroke I looked up on the screen and I saw how I was right in front of the world record line and that kind of motivated me,” Lochte said. “It pushed me in breaststroke and freestyle and I just came off that last wall, took a deep breath and just went in.”

Lochte finished more than two bodylengths ahead of his closest competitor, Markus Rogan of Austria, who was 2.82 seconds behind. Another American, Tyler Clary, was third, 3.48 back.

Lochte’s two marks represent the only individual world records set in 2010 – either in short- or long-course – after high-tech bodysuits were banned at the beginning of the year. By contrast, nearly every record in swimming was broken multiple times the previous two years.

Two other world records in relays were set the past two days.

Lochte has won all three of his individual events so far and he has two more remaining, plus possibly a relay.

“I never go in the race expecting world records,” he said. “I’m just going out there having fun, and if me having fun puts me first with a world record, more power to me I guess.”

Lochte took bronze medals in the 200 and 400 IMs at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which were both won by Michael Phelps, who is skipping this meet.

Also yesterday, Olympic champion Cesar Cielo showed a return to form with a dominant display in the 50 freestyle.

Cielo clocked 20.51 seconds in the two-lap race, 0.30 ahead of French rival Frederick Bousquet, with Josh Schneider of the United States third, 0.37 behind.

After winning the 50 in Beijing, Cielo then swept both sprints – the 50 and 100 – at the 2009 long-course worlds in Rome. But he failed to win over both distances at the Pan Pacific championships in August, where American sprinter Nathan Adrian prevailed.

“Swimming is like boxing – eventually you’re going to get hit – but they didn’t knock me out,” said Cielo, who celebrated by slamming the water with his fist. “I’m up and I’m hitting them back. So if they want to win again they’re going to have to bring some more.”

Adrian failed to reach the final in the 50, and Cielo now enters as an even bigger favorite for the 100 tomorrow.

In the women’s 100 free, Dutch sprinters Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Femke Heemskerk finished 1-2, relegating American standout Natalie Coughlin to third.

Kromowidjojo clocked a championship-record 51.45, Heemskerk finished 0.73 behind and Coughlin was 0.80 back.

Kromowidjojo and Heemskerk also finished 1-2 in the 100 free at the European short-course championships three weeks ago. Both were also part of the Dutch squad that took gold in the 400 freestyle relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and last year’s long-course worlds in Rome.

“Kromowidjojo was in a class of her own,” Heemskerk said. “She did great and I am the best of the rest.”

Paul Biedermann of Germany won the 400 free in 3:37.06 – more than four seconds off his world record last year in a bodysuit. Nikita Lobintsev of Russia took silver, 0.78 behind, and Olympic 1,500 champion Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia was third, 1.11 back.

Olympic silver medalist Katie Hoff won the women’s 400 free in a championship record 3:57.07, with Kylie Palmer of Australia second, 1.32 behind, and Federica Pellegrini of Italy third, 2.45 back.

Pellegrini won the 200 free in Beijing and swept the 200 and 400 at last year’s long-course worlds in Rome, but the 400 has at times represented a stumbling block for her.

Three weeks ago, Pellegrini pulled up midway through her 400 heat at the short-course European championships because of nerves, the third such incident in her career.

“I wasn’t in form, and I can’t be all year,” Pellegrini said of her latest effort.

Still, the Italian will be an overwhelming favorite in the 200, which she hasn’t lost in nearly four years.

Also, Naoya Tomita of Japan won ahead of world record-holder Daniel Gyurta of Hungary in the men’s 200 breaststroke.

Other women’s winners included Alexianne Castel of France in the 200 backstroke and Swedish veteran Therese Alshammar in the 50 butterfly.