Who knows what would happen if Phelps didn’t exist. Might one of his main rivals, Hungary’s László Cseh, be considered the best male swimmer over the past decade?
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Gold medalist Ryan Murphy poses during the medal ceremony for the Men’s 100m Backstroke Final on Day 3 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Well, sort of. The reality is Lochte has not beaten Phelps in this event in three straight Olympic Games. Entering Thursday, he has 12 Olympic medals, six of them gold, making him tied for seventh most decorated Summer Olympian of all time. The 200-meter individual medley.
Many posts show him dressed in patriotic outfits with stars and stripes, gold booties and a T-shirt reading, “Gold Medal Athlete”.
Golf is being played for the first time at the Olympics in more than 100 years.
Congratulations as always to Phelps, and Locthe, congratulations on being the Ryan Lochte of self-knowledge, honesty, and telling faces.
After his butterfly preliminary, Phelps turned his attention to tonight’s 200-meter individual medley final, which will feature perhaps the final chapter of his eternal rivalry with Ryan Lochte.
In taking out this race, Phelps’ pet event, he becomes the first swimmer ever to win gold in the same event at four consecutive Olympic Games.
His medal haul has now risen to 26, including two silvers and two bronzes, with the 100 butterfly final still to come on Friday.
Both Phelps and Lochte swam in the 200m individual medley semifinals Wednesday. She dominated once again to win the gold medal in the women’s 800m freestyle in world record time, finishing in 8:04.79. Katie Ledecky, who on the same night took home the gold in the 200m Freestyle after beating Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom and Australia’s Emma McKeon.
Still, Phelps was not done, putting the finishing touch to a routine win in the 4x200m free, cruising home nearly two and a half seconds ahead of Britain’s James Guy. He helped the USA team to the 4×200 relay gold, swimming both in prelims and the final.
Is there anything he can’t do?
Phelps won gold in the 200-meter IM in London in 2012 with a time of 1:54.30. At 15, Phelps was youngest American male to make the U.S. swim team in 68 years.
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While Phelps, 31, has said repeatedly he would retire after these Olympics, he also said the same thing in London. From 164 to 152 BCE, Leonidas had won gold medals in three ancient foot races, but it’s also been stressed that the record may be of “dubious” nature.
