Ledecky anchored the women’s team in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay final – an event Team USA won during the 2012 London Olympics – and helped the team to win the gold medal.
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But what if Phelps didn’t exist? Phelps and Lochte went head-to-head in their 200m individual medley semifinal.
Three-time gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings and her partner April Ross dropped the second set vs. He has still to compete in the 200-metre individual medley and the 100-metre butterfly events.
In addition to Cseh, three more athletes – Serbia’s Milorad Čavić and Japan’s Takashi Yamamoto and Masato Sakai – would have a gold medal.
Now, Michael Phelps actually has a kid.
US swimming phenom Michael Phelps will be looking to earn his 22 career gold medal in the 200 meter individual medley Thursday night.
Phelps has won 21 Golds and a total of 25 medals in competitive swimming, with 12 being individual Golds.
They’ll race against each other for the final time in the 200-meter individual medley, ending a 13-year rivalry that has been one of the greatest in swimming history.
After over a decade of epic races involving Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, the American swimmers may be suiting up for one of their final big showdowns. This means that, according to historians, Phelps has levelled a 2,168-year-old record, previously held by Leonidas of Rhodes in 152 B.C.
As for the other events that will be taking place for medals on Thursday, the women’s 100 meter freestyle, 200 meter breaststroke and men’s 200 meter backstroke will also be up for grabs.
Not only did Ledecky set a new record in the 800m, she blew the field away.
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Fellow American Leah Smith, who herself has won a gold and a bronze in Rio so far, also qualified for the 800m free final, posting the fourth fastest time in prelims at 8.57 seconds behind Ledecky. Neither Scott Goldblatt nor Dan Ketchum – two possible replacements for Phelps – swam faster than 1 minute, 48 seconds in Round 1 for the US men’s team, illustrating how critical Phelps was to the team’s chances at reaching the podium.
