Michael Phelps took back his 200m butterfly Olympic title which he lost miraculously at the London 2012 Olympics to South Africa’s Chad le Clos. He won his 21st gold medal a little while later, as a member of the USA 800-meter freestyle relay team, along with Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas and Ryan Lochte. “I didn’t say anything to anyone else, but there wasn’t a shot in hell I was losing it”. Just being able to see the one by my name again, one more time in the 200 fly. It’s mind-blowing. I wanted that one back. It didn’t work out the way I wanted it to, but at least I was able to make it to Rio.
Advertisement
For Phelps, who quit the sport after London 2012 and then returned two years later, this was the moment he had been waiting for.
But in 2014, Phelps had a change of heart and made a decision to compete in the 200m butterfly, specifically because he thought the field was slow and he had a chance to win gold. Great Britain were second and Japan third.
Arms aloft and waving his finger, Michael Phelps left nobody in doubt just who was No. 1 Tuesday. Phelps became the oldest Olympic champion in an individual event in Olympic history at age 31.
Phelps, Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz, and Ryan Lochte combined to give Phelps his 21st gold medal.
For Phelps, another retirement looms. Phelps will then compete On Thursday, August 11 at 1:016 PM ET, he will compete in the Men’s 100m butterfly.
“That’s a lot of medals”, he said.
He cleared up the mystery in his post-race interview with NBC after taking yet another gold in the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
And as for Rio, Ledecky still has the Women’s 800m freestyle to compete in on Thursday, so she may not be done just yet!
Williams, hampered by a shoulder injury, served five double faults in one game of the second set as her own bid to reach five gold medals ended.
Advertisement
The normally stern Karolyi broke down in tears when she was told of the nickname the team adopted. “I took it pretty fast and forced everyone and once I was ahead I was not going to let it out of my hands”.
