Phelps swims to victory in chilly Santa Clara

But then came the toughest part of his evening. Meet officials could not find his clothes, and the swimmer who captured eight gold medals at the Beijing Games last August stood shivering in the chilly air for several minutes with only a large white towel to protect him from the elements.

“It’s cold out here, I’m freezing,’’ Phelps said.”It’s windy and chilly.”

While the water is kept at a comfortable competition temperature, Phelps said he could feel the wind in his face during the last half of the race.

“I felt the wind the third 50 (meters),” he said. “Coming off the 100 wall I was feeling, ‘Ooh, this is not good.’”

While Phelps had the most dominant victory Friday night, he was not the biggest winner.

That honor went to American Dana Vollmer, who won the women’s 100m freestyle and the 100m butterfly, and then added her third gold medal of the evening by swimming the anchor leg on the winning 4x100m freestyle relay.