Phelps now has 25 Olympic medals including 14 individual gold, which ties him for the record with Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina. He motioned at his neck as though he had nothing left to give. His timing though was way behind the World Record mark of 1:51.51 that he had set way back in 2009.
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He cruised to victory in one minute 53.36 seconds as the South African only managed to finish fourth.
For Ledecky, the result nearly qualifies as a photo finish; her speed has often appeared unmatchable at the longer distances in which she dominates.
At 31, Phelps became the oldest swimmer to win an individual race.
They grabbed gold once again on Tuesday night, in races that started nine minutes apart, with USA basketball stars Draymond Green, DeAndre Jordan, Klay Thompson and Carmelo Anthony leading the cheers.
But after Rio, Phelps says he’s calling it quits for good.
With challengers all around, Phelps simply wouldn’t be denied.
He had retired after the 2012 London Olympics, but reversed his decision two years later, before his comeback was nearly derailed after a stint in rehab that followed a drink-driving arrest in the US. “I took it pretty fast and forced everyone and once I was ahead I was not going to let it out of my hands”. The only thing that mattered was getting to the wall first.
After winning on Tuesday night, Phelps did the Dikembe Mutombo no-no-no finger wag to let Le Clos know he’s still the best in the world.
Japan and Australia tried to challenge the Americans. I wanted another picture with him on the medal stand. “He usually sleeps all the time”.
When Phelps, 31, stopped the clock at one minute 53.36 seconds he had become the oldest ever victor of an individual Olympic swimming event.
“The last 10 meters were not fun”, Phelps said. “My gosh, I thought I was standing still”. The 19-time Olympic gold medalist snarled, and the stare-down image went viral.
The relay was much less dramatic.
Phelps was drafted into the United States’ relay team following the afternoon heats and produced a strong anchoring leg after being handed a dominant lead.
Phelps essentially spent the next 100 seconds or so on a victory lap, the crowd’s cheers growing louder with each stroke.
Japan’s Masato Sakai finished second in the race behind Phelps by four hundreth of a second.
Sure, Phelps hogged the spotlight on this night, but let’s not forget two other very impressive swimmers.
In the women’s 200m freestyle Katie Ledecky got the better of another great rivalry to beat Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom in 1:53.73.
It was the fourth successive US Olympic victory in the event. It was shocking when Venus and Serena Williams lost their first-round doubles match Sunday, having won three Olympic golds in three previous tries.
Hosszu, nicknamed the “Iron Lady” could add another gold to her tally when she competes in the 200-meter backstroke. Her previous triumphs came in the 100m backstroke and 400m IM.
Britain’s Siobhan-Marie O’Connor took silver in 2:06.88.
For Phelps, another retirement looms.
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“That event was kind of my bread and butter”. “That was the last time I’ll ever swim it”.
