Phelps was beaten in his last Olympic individual race Friday night by a 21-year-old who grew up idolizing him.
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Beating Michael Phelps to win the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the Rio Olympics was exciting enough for Former Bolles Schools standout Joseph Schooling, who was competing for Singapore.
Denmark’s Pernille Blume beat a field of world and Olympic champions to take gold in the women’s 50 freestyle and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri won the men’s 1,500 freestyle after dominating nearly from the start. Joining Debbie Meyer as the only women to sweep the three longer freestyle events at the same games, Ledecky won her signature event in 8 minutes, 4.79 seconds.
While finding an athlete who could challenge the domineering record held by the “Flying Fish” may seem impossible, the US star who claimed the 22nd Olympic gold of his Olympic career on Thursday, August 11, was denied his 23rd gold medal in the 100m butterfly by a 21-year-old Singaporean who became the country’s first Olympic champion.
She’s rooming with fellow gold-medalist Simone Manuel. “I just wanted to push myself and see what I could do”, she later said.
Also, Britain’s Mo Farah unleashed his trademark kick to pull away in the final straightway of the 10,000 meters, winning in a time of 27 minutes, 5:17 seconds, and defending the gold he captured in London four years ago. Then, after her coach moved to the West Coast, Ledecky hooked up with Bruce Gemmell and never missed a beat.
She broke her own world record of 8:06.68 that she set in January, and shattered her own Olympic record of 8:12.86, a time she clocked in a qualifying heat yesterday.
“The best team did not win today”, she said.
Standing atop the medal podium for the 23rd time, listening the “The Star-Spangled Banner” as he’s done so many times before, Phelps teared up a bit and gave a little nod.
“That’s pretty insane, what happens in eight years”, said Schooling, who attends the University of Texas. “The memories mean more than the medals to me”.
The United States has made Olympic history in Rio by becoming the first nation to win 1,000 gold medals in the Summer Games.
Phelps later reiterated his stance of quitting the sport after Saturday’s 4X100m medley relay.
Then, he insists, he’s done.
“I was just trying to make sure we stayed as much in the game as we could”, Miller told NBC after earning the seventh medal and fourth gold medal by a Hoosier.
PHELPS: I’m happy with how things finished.
The 2012 London Games were supposed to be Phelps’ final Olympics as he retired from the sport.
When Phelps climbed, like a Wimbledon tennis champion, past a bank of poolside photographers to kiss fiancee Nicole and baby Boomer, the Brazilian crowd erupted.
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“I don’t know if I’ve (ever) been in a tie, so a three way tie is pretty wild”, said Phelps. And a big scare for the USA men’s basketball team. That set the stage for Phelps, who handled the third leg, the butterfly, in a memorable and triumphant conclusion to his fifth – and he says final – Olympic Games.
