Phelps struggles again in Berlin

Phelps has struggled while records have been broken around him

Michael Phelps has continued his struggles at the short-course World Cup after he finished second in one race and missed out on another final.

Phelps, who won eight golds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, finished second behind South Africa's Darian Townsend in the 200m individual medley final.

Earlier, he had failed to qualify for the final of the 200m freestyle.

GB's Fran Halsall won two more medals - silver in the 100m freestyle and bronze in the 100m individual medley.

Liverpool's Halsall, 19, has enjoyed a stunning week after she won gold in the women's 100m freestyle in a European and World Cup best time of 51.61 seconds in Sweden on Wednesday.

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But Phelps' woes continued as his eagerly-awaited clash with double world champion Paul Biedermann in the 200m freestyle final failed to materialise.

Phelps, who has been competing in an old-fashioned swimming suit which will become standard next year, finished with only the 12th fastest time in the preliminaries.

Biedermann went on to set his second short-course world record in as many days, clinching victory with a new best time of one minute, 39.37 seconds.

"These were great races," said Biedermann. "I am proud to be the first man to swim the 200m under 100 seconds. But I am disappointed that Phelps was not in top form. That would have been a good duel."

Meanwhile, Britain's Elizabeth Simmonds finished fourth in the final of the women's 100m backstroke - won in world record time by Japan's Shiho Sakai - while Ross Davenport touched in fifth in the men's 200m freestyle final.

Fifteen-year-old Jessica Thielmann also impressed to finish 12th in the women's 400m individual medley.