The U.S. team set a world record of three minutes, 8.24 seconds in the Beijing final, a race in the bodysuit-era that still stands and is likely to endure for some time to come.
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Michael Phelps won a record 19th Olympic gold medal as the USA on Sunday clinched the men’s 4×100 metres freestyle relay title of the Rio Games.
It was not unusual to see Phelps, who returned for one last tilt at the Olympics after initially retiring following the London Games, standing on the podium, but it was to see the 19-time champion overcome with emotion.
Sniff! Now Boomer may only be 3-months-old but that doesn’t mean he isn’t proud of his poppa.
He has won twice as many Olympic gold medals as the athlete second on the list, former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina.
But it was a day of unadulterated delight for Phelps, the 31-year-old who has now won 19 gold medals after the relay win ahead of defending champions France in silver, with Australia third.
The win makes Kosovo the 100th country to win an Olympic gold medal.
Phelps earned adulation Sunday when he extended his record gold medal tally on a day of Olympic drama that saw world records, a first title for Kosovo and a heart-stopping crash.
Phelps’ performance didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates as fellow veteran Nathan Adrian heaped praise on his Olympic teammate.
Michael Phelps and teammate Caeleb Dressel celebrate their victory in the men’s freestyle relay.
History and Phelps said otherwise.
The Americans have won the 400 freestyle relay nine times since it was first contested in 1964. But they had won it only once since 2000 until Sunday.
Michael Phelps has to clear out more space in his medal case.
“The younger guys started crying and I started crying”, laughed Phelps.
“I wanted more. I was within half a second of medalling – it was literally, if I would have taken it out a little bit faster, maybe I would have had a chance”, said Phelps, remembering his first Olympic event.
‘I didn’t think I was going to cry.
It was also a night of world records in Rio.
Sjostrom won easily while Cal graduate Dana Vollmer completed a 16-month comeback with a bronze medal after having a baby past year. The tears just started rolling down my face’.
Penny Oleksiak of Canada took the silver in 56.46, edging out defending Olympic champion Dana Vollmer.
Four years ago, the French got their revenge when Yannick Agnel caught Ryan Lochte on the anchor leg. “My last 400 free relay ever, it feels damn good to get a win”.
Great Britain’s own leading Olympic gold medal-winner, cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, has six to his name, which leaves him joint 50th in the table along with Indonesia, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Morocco and Lithuania.
When Vollmer touched the wall she said, “Please let it be a medal”. “I knew I was due for a breakthrough”.
American-born Shane Ryan failed to advance from the semi-finals of the 100m backstroke at Rio in the early hours of the morning.
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Cal’s Kathleen Baker led all qualifiers in the women’s 100 backstroke with an impressive time of 58.84 seconds. The final time was 3:09.92.
