Phelps added a relay gold, giving him a record 21 gold medals in his career.
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Because he has won so relentlessly, Phelps has rarely needed to seek retribution. Four years ago, Phelps misjudged his finish – gliding a little too long after his final stroke – and was edged at the wall by South African Chad le Clos.
Phelps’ powered to a 1 minute, 53.36-second clocking for his 24th overall Olympic medal.
Ledecky had already picked up a gold in the 400-meter free in world record time Monday night. Did you want Katie to take home the gold medal? Down an event in length, Ledecky owned a best of 1:58.66 in the 200 free, a mark that sat just 55th in the world rankings. Her candidness was refreshing and she is one of the most inspiring young women competing in the games this year. “Of course, Ledecky is one of a kind, so it feels like a gold to me that I’m after her”.
Katinka Hosszu claimed her third gold medal of the Games by winning the individual 200-meter medley after setting a new Olympic record. Sjostrom pushed her hard over the last 50 meters and earned silver in 1:54.08.
“I pretty much went on auto-control once I dove in and just let it happen”, Ledecky said on NBC afterward.
About an hour later, Phelps was back in the water again, anchoring the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay in a race that was far from close, with the USA team – Conor Dwyer; Townley Haas; Ryan Lochte; and Phelps – shaving 6 seconds off their qualifying time to finish at 7:00.66 – just 2 seconds off the world record. She previously won the 400 IM and 100 backstroke.
Defending Olympic champion Nathan Adrian barely advanced in the preliminaries of the 100-meter freestyle at the Rio Olympics.
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He wasn’t taking any chances in the semifinals.
