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Rio Recap: Michael Phelps beaten by 21-year-old Joseph Schooling

Singaporean watch a live broadcast on television of Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling competing at the Rio olympic in Singapore on August 13, 2016 at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

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But Phelps insisted there would be no U-turn, saying: “Nope, done”. I didn’t want to have a what-if 20 years later.

“I’ve been able to do everything I’ve ever put my mind to in the sport”.

While Phelps provided the youngster the inspiration needed to become a great swimmer, Schooling said that it was his grand-uncle, Lloyd Valberg, a former national high jumper who was considered as Singapore’s first Olympian, who made him want to be an Olympian at a young age of 6.

He’s a father now, to 3-month-old Boomer.

“Nobody is happy to lose, but I’m proud of Jo”, Phelps said at the post-race media conference.

Like Schooling, Le Clos asked Phelps to continue.

Phelps shared the silver with two other longtime rivals, Chad le Clos of South Africa and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary.

Phelps became the meme heard ’round the world on Monday when he glared – hard – at fellow Olympian Chad le Clos, who made the weird choice to shadowbox in front of Phelps in the ready room before the rivals faced off in the 200-meter butterfly semifinals.

They clasped hands and stepped up together. “I already have the race picked out”.

The 21-year-old Schooling competes for the University of Texas, where he’ll be a junior this fall. When I saw him I was shellshocked, didn’t really smile – I just opened my mouth wide.

Phelps will now have to wait to see if he can add to his 23 gold medals when he is expected to take part in Saturday’s men’s 4x100m freestyle medley.

Amazing? Yes. But Schooling and Phelps have a surprising history that goes further back than the Rio pool. In the Asian Games later that year, he won the Republic’s first Asian Games swimming gold in 32 years in the same event.

Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin medaled in the 50M freestyle final. Bronze went to Canada’s Hilary Caldwell. The country first entered the Olympics in 1948.

Gold in each of his nine SEA Games events in 2015, all achieved in Games records, preceded a truly historic moment at the World Championships in Kazan. “It wasn’t the best start, it felt kind of sluggish”, Bolt said, adding that he never has been a morning person and preparations for his noon-time race felt unusual.

Ledecky was barely breathing hard.

“It’s been a tough road, I’m not going to lie, the first guy through the wall, it’s always bloody”, he said.

While Ledecky, at 19, is the youngest member of the USA team, Ervin is the oldest at 35. Then, Ervin walked away from swimming, skipping the next two Olympics while he embarked on a journey to find his objective in life.

A program to import sporting talent into Singapore has proved controversial, despite helping the country to win medals in regional and worldwide competitions. Now, improbably, he’s back on the top of the podium again.

The silver was the fourth of Cseh’s Olympic career and left him, at 30, still without a gold. She certainly has nothing to complain about after winning two golds, a silver and a bronze. “I’m full of emotions now”, he said.

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Again, it was his hero who motivated Joseph on, and he thought: “I know that as I get older, I’ll become stronger, and I’ll fare better beside him”.

Michael Phelps Creates More Olympics History