Now, she’s done with what she termed a “disappointing” Olympics that included: Her failing to qualify for both the 200 freestyle and 200 back finals; and her swimming with the 4×200 free relay in its preliminary heat, not the final.
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Phelps is now up 28 Olympic medals overall, with 22 of them gold. Her world record, set in January, was nearly 12 seconds faster than anyone else in 2016 and nearly eight seconds faster than anyone else in history.
‘I have been working on that side as well and not just the physical aspect’.
Australia, who led until Ledecky dived in and turned the race around, took silver and Canada the bronze on another glorious night for the U.S. swim star.
Some 23 seconds after Ledecky touched the wall, the last of the eight finalists finally got to the end of the grueling race. But one person who has proven to be an incredible asset after major swimming races is Michele Tafoya, who has unearthed nuggets about Katie Ledecky’s nerves and Michael Phelps’ revenge on Tuesday night.
Phelps was seeking his 23rd Olympic gold medal and his fourth straight in the 100-meter butterfly, but he was denied by Singapore’s Joseph Schooling, who got off to a blistering start and built a lead that even Phelps couldn’t overcome. She remains undefeated in major global individual events.
Ledecky and Debbie Meyer are now the only female swimmers to sweep the three longest freestyle races.
A beaming Carlin said: “I couldn’t do it without my family”.
Ledecky was barely breathing hard.
While Ledecky, at 19, is the youngest member of the USA team, Ervin is the oldest at 35. In the men’s 50-meter freestyle, the last final of the night, Anthony Ervin won in 21.40, edging France’s Florent Manaudou (21.41) and his American teammate Nathan Adrian (21.49) in the one-length sprint. Yulia Efimova would take silver and Shi Jinglin would take bronze.
It has completed a remarkable Olympics for Carlin who has overcome the disappointment of missing out on London 2012 to become Team GB’s first double medallist of Rio 2016. Now, improbably, he’s back on the top of the podium again.
In an earlier interview, the 19-year-old had said her Jewish grandmother, Berta, 83, instilled in her the competitive spirit that gave her the drive to succeed. American swimmer Simone Manuel and Canada’s Penny Oleksiak would tie with a record time of 52.70.
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Her quest for a new 800 frontier felt like a valedictory address as much as a race.
