“I really wanted that one back”, said Phelps, who retired after 2012 but came back because he felt he needed to go out on his own terms.
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RIO DE JANEIRO The United States won the men’s 4×200 meter freestyle relay on Tuesday, with Michael Phelps swimming the anchor leg to take his 21st gold medal.
Cseh began to fade, with Le Clos moving into second at the 150 metre-mark but the South African could not match Phelps in the final lap, with the American punching the air in delight after stepping out.
Le Clos, whose run-up to the Games was overshadowed by the devastating news that both of his parents had been diagnosed with cancer, finished fourth.
In the end, though, the man who is statistically the greatest Olympian of all time in terms of medals proved that he is the ultimate champion in winning his 20th gold medal as he reclaimed the title he won in Athens in 2004 and Beijing four years later.
Phelps said he had been prepared to leave “every ounce” in the pool, and strain every sinew, and did not know how close it had been until he was on the podium. “I’ll race my heart out”.
CORONATION TIME: Biles and her American gymnastics teammates have been head and shoulders above the competition during qualifying.
Phelps got off to a rousing start at the Rio Games by leading his 4×100 freestyle team to the gold medal on Sunday. They posted the top score by 10 points, an enormous gap in the world of gymnastics scoring.
Biles, Lauren Hernandez, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman also gave retiring national team coordinator Martha Karolyi a fitting send off with powerful performances on all the apparatuses.
RUGBY STUNNER: Sonny Bill Williams was helped off the field with an injured left ankle during New Zealand’s shocking 14-12 loss to Japan in its first game of rugby sevens at the Olympics.
After touching the wall first – barely – he held up one finger. With his head almost at the wall, he took one more stroke to make sure he got there first, his arms slamming against the timing pad. Szogedi became the first female judoka to represent the African nation, after obtaining Ghanaian citizenship through her husband. But facing Brazilian Mariana Silva in the first round, Szogedi had to deal with a crowd shouting support for her opponent. After less than two minutes, however, the fight was over: Silva took Szogedi down and caught her in a stranglehold. Afterward, a tearful Szogedi said she was “gutted”.
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In the women’s freestyle race that kicked off the medal events in the late-night session at Rio’s aquatic center, Ledecky edged Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom by 0.35 seconds with a finishing time of 1:53.73. The other American, Caeleb Dressel, was second fastest in 47.91.
