Check out the moment that Olympic icon Michael Phelps stormed to a record 21st gold medal on Wednesday. “It kind of stuck with me and I really wanted that one back”. I came into the pool tonight with a mission and the mission was accomplished.
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He’s picked up medals in the 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley as well as several relay events. It’s the only one he has swam in all five of his Olympics, starting in 2000 in Sydney, when, as a 15-year-old, he finished fifth.
When Chad Le Clos beat out uber-Olympian Micheal Phelps to take gold in the 200m butterfly in London four years ago, it was the upset of the 2012 Olympics. Like seriously, there must be something about that play list that makes one a champion and we totally want in on it!
The Japan team of Kosuke Hagino, Naito Ehara, Yuki Kobori and Takeshi Matsuda took the bronze, the country’s first medal in the event since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The event was my bread and butter.
“It’s kind of been a insane last couple days”. “Doing a double like that is a lot harder than it once was”.
“There wasn’t a shot in hell I was losing that race and if I did I was leaving everything in the pool”.
The race had been billed as a grudge match between Phelps and his London Olympic conqueror Le Clos, but instead it was Sakai who posed the biggest threat with a final-50-meter time that was nearly a full second faster than Phelps’. And, if I did, every ounce that I had was left in the pool. “His first one will always be my favourite, and by that I mean his first 200 fly medal not his first race, but that one was definitely number two”.
The camera showed le Clos boxing and bouncing around while warming up.
With the medals on the line, the prizefighters were ready for round two in Tuesday night’s final.
Le Clos looks at Phelps during the final. But there was no emotional victory this time round.
Hungary’s Tamas Kenderesi took bronze, 0.26 seconds further back.
“It was good to see he was awake”.
The result was no longer in doubt by the time Phelps dove in. Well, according to The New York Times, his “pre-race playlist” includes “a mix of songs from Eminem, Young Jeezy and a more recent addition, Eric Church”.
“When I heard it, I knew exactly who did it, and I couldn’t stop cracking up”, he said. “I’m just happy I won”.
Kosuke Hagino won his second medal at Rio, helping Japan grab the bronze in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. He has even tried to copy Phelps’ swimming style. He had to wear an all-black cap, so we reversed it, put it on.
He laughed out loud on the podium, amused by friends in the crowd shouting out the familiar “O” for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team while the United States basketball team looked on, and kissed the medal.
“But I’m going to keep swimming until I stop having fun”.
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But come D-Day on Tuesday, Phelps reclaimed that gold he missed out on four years ago.
