The Olympic curtain came down on Michael Phelps Saturday, but not before he and his USA 4×100-meter medley relay colleagues could add another medal to his already record-breaking collection.
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A big night for Michael Phelps as he competed in his final swim in the pool. Michael Phelps (USA) of USA poses with his gold medal.
“I wanted to change the sport of swimming”. And I am somebody who still wants to win every race and still wants to be in the middle of the pool (with the fastest qualifiers).
“I was only at a gas station”, she quipped, “so I didn’t think I was going to hurt anyone”.
It is no idle boast.
In the year post-Athens, it rose 7 percent, after Beijing there was an 11 percent increase, while what appeared to be his Games swansong in London sparked a 13 percent rise in those taking up the sport stateside. “I think it showed in his swimming, it showed in his demeanor, and it certainly showed in his leadership on the team”. In one news conference in Rio this week, Phelps pointed specifically to the Grand Prix meets in Charlotte that he swam in 2014 and 2015 as times when he felt like quitting again. Phelps’ teammate Nathan Adrian of Bremerton anchored the relay.
And what if Boomer wants to take all those medals to show-and-tell someday? This is the best place I’ve ever been in my life, with an wonderful family.
“I mean 1,000 gold for the U.S. is a nice number”.
Like Phelps, Mark Foster is a five-time Olympian and now a commentator for United Kingdom broadcaster the BBC at these Games.
Even his lone silver, behind Singapore sensation Joseph Schooling in the 100m butterfly, carried a whiff of the extraordinary – it was a rare three-way tie with rivals le Clos and Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh. Dana Vollmer came back to win gold in the relay after becoming a mother. Swimming is a drug and he’s addicted. Or, more exactly, when I don’t see him at the 2020 Olympics.
It was the kind of expansive public demonstration the old Phelps rarely allowed himself, just as the old Phelps would not have let himself get too emotional on the 200m medley medal stand, knowing he had a 100m butterfly semi coming up. It’s like watching Usain Bolt, everyone goes bang and realizes its something special. “But here they realize it’s finally the end of something special”.
If this was indeed the end, then Phelps went out in style, with 28 medals overall, having won five golds and a silver in Rio de Janeiro.
But before his golden sign-off from the Rio games, he announced in a Facebook live video that he would be retiring after this race, despite his teammate Ryan Lochte’s “guarantee” that there would be four more years for the legendary swimmer. She finished in 24.07. The road to Rio has been rocky at times. And he’s also been well known for non-swimming events, such as the recent arrival of his son Boomer, as much a feature for the camera lenses at the Olympic pool as his famous father.
Italy’s Paltrinieri won the 1,500 meters freestyle after dominating throughout the race with a relentless display of technique and endurance in the longest event in the pool.
The U.S. men’s basketball team could take a lesson from the U.S. women’s soccer team: beware of being the heavy favorite.
In one of the highlights of the athletics competitions, Britain’s Mo Farah overcame the shock of a mid-race fall to take a second straight Olympic 10,000m title and extend his remarkable record at global championships. “That’s Phelps – singlehandedly he’s elevated the profile of the sport”.
The hullabaloo over the Phelps’s farewell overshadowed the achievement of the women’s 4x100m medley relayers as they captured their country’s 1,000 Olympic medal, according to the US Olympic committee, dating back to 1896 when James Connolly won triple jump gold.
“Being Michael requires such isolation”, Ervin said. The 200m butterfly put him on the map in the first place and he wanted it back.
The men’s epee team gold medal match starts at 6:30 p.m. “But you’re going to be seeing a lot of other wonderful people”. He likes the symmetry of that “23” number, since he has hero-worshipped Michael Jordan since he was a kid. “Why would you poke the tiger?”
The Phelps of 2016 has been unlike any other Games. She was trying to give Germany its first singles gold since Steffi Graf in 1988, but instead goes home with silver.
Lohn says his relationship with Phelps is also more relaxed. “It was a new experience for me”.
“It’s incredible. Really. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a child and it’s awesome”, the 21-year-old said. “Italian people really wanted this gold and it was more hard than I expected”. Swimming will miss him but those he has inspired will continue on.
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His lifelong coach Bob Bowman knows he will never work with another swimmer quite like him.
