Phelps swam the third leg of the men’s 4×100-meter medley relay, with Team USA winning the event with a time of 3:27.95.
Advertisement
Nathan Adrian brought the Americans home to preserve their unbeaten Olympic record in the event and give them a 16th swimming gold from 32 events for the week, matching their haul in London four years ago.
The women’s 400 metres medley relay was first, and the American quartet delivered an emphatic victory in a time of 3:53.13. I’ve lived a dream come true.
It was a fittingly triumphant swansong for Phelps, 31, the most decorated Olympian in history who added five golds and a silver in Rio to finish with 28 medals overall.
“That’s something that I’ve been gunning for for a long time and to do it in the most watched race, Michael’s last race is something special”, Murphy said.
On a more amusing note, Phelps inadvertently created the #PhelpsFace social media phenomenon -akin to gymnast McKayla Maroney’s “McKayla is not impressed” face that was turned into memes following her silver medal vault finish at the 2012 #Olympics- when a photo of him appearing to give rival Chad le Clos a dirty look in the warm-up area appeared online. Phelps, the Team U.S.A. captain this time around, says this was his last Olympics, and though he has un-retired before, most seem to believe that this time, he meansit. China Gold: 13, Silver: 11, Bronze: 17, Total: 41 3.
Murphy, who won two backstroke golds in Rio, put the Americans out front with a world-record split – it counts since he was leading off – before Britain surged ahead on the breaststroke with its own world-record holder, Adam Peaty. “I thought about all my hard work and that it could all be gone in a minute”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports however that it was the final competitive swim for Phelps. After Saturday’s race, he told NBC, “I’m just ready for something different”.
“When I went down, I thought, ‘Oh my God, that is it.’ I just got up and wanted to stick with the guys and stay strong”, Farah said after the match. “My swimming career might be over, but I have this future ahead of me, and I can just turn the page and start whatever I want”. It’s the beginning of a new journey.
Earlier the United States also won the women’s 4x100m medley relay-the country’s 1,000th gold medal in Olympic competition according to the US Olympic Committee.
Advertisement
Connor Jaeger gave the US another silver in the 1,500 free, leaving the American with 33 swimming medals in Rio – matching the highest total since the boycotted Los Angeles Games in 1984. Australia earned silver, while Denmark took bronze. He finished his time at Rio 2016 with three gold medals.
