Swimming superstar Michael Phelps arrived in Shanghai Wednesday with his US team-mates ahead of his bid for another huge medals haul at the world championships.

Swimming superstar Michael Phelps, seen here on July 15, arrived in Shanghai Wednesday with his US team-mates ahead of his bid for another huge medals haul at the world championships

The 14-time Olympic champion, the number one draw at the Shanghai worlds, arrived at the city\'s Pudong international airport on a Qantas flight from Australia, where the US team has been based in a training camp.

The unshaven Phelps, wearing a baseball cap, emerged in the arrivals hall to an explosion of flashbulbs but refused to speak to waiting reporters as he made his way with the rest of the US team to a waiting bus.

Phelps, 26, who won eight golds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and has an astonishing 16 world championships titles to his name, has predicted world records will tumble despite the banning of controversial swimsuits last year.

But he also comes to Shanghai with something to prove after turning in some poor results this year including a 400m individual medley loss to team-mate and long-time rival Ryan Lochte.

More significantly, Phelps has been beaten in his favourite event, the 200m butterfly, three times this year -- twice to China\'s Wu Peng and once to Australian Nick D\'Arcy -- ending a nine-year winning streak.

The blue riband swimming events in Shanghai start on Sunday.