The win guaranteed the “Baltimore Bullet” his 23rd gold medal in five Games appearances stretching over 16 years, not to mention a fifth win at Rio 26 after success in the 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley.
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Michael Phelps, arguably the greatest Olympian of all time, confirmed he has swum his last race in an interview with NBC on Monday in Rio de Janeiro.
While the spotlight was on the 31-year-old, who retired after the 2012 London Games before returning for one last hurrah, the US women’s 4x100m medley relayers captured their country’s 1,000th Olympic medal. If I hadn’t had come back, I wouldn’t have know what to do with myself and would have been frustrated with myself for not giving myself a chance. “I knew this was the last time, the last race I’d ever have, the last Olympics I’d ever have”.
The United States won its 1,000th gold medal Saturday night when Simone Manuel solidly won the women’s 4×100 swimming relay, and the USA mens 4×100 meter swimming relay team set a new Olympic record to help Michael Phelps grab one more gold medal before retiring.
Fellow American Leah Smith, who herself has won a gold and a bronze in Rio so far, also qualified for the 800m free final, posting the fourth fastest time in prelims at 8.57 seconds behind Ledecky. “[It’s] something I’m excited about and proud of”.
United States Olympic Committee head, Scott Blackmun, said: “One thousand gold medals is a remarkable achievement made possible by the culture of sport that is the fabric and foundation of Team USA. It’s insane. A lot better than what it was four years ago”.
“It’s really special and the fact that I can do it with a relay is awesome”, she said after the US women beat Australia and Denmark.
Unfortunately, lovers of The U.S. swimming team won’t see much more of swimming on their televisions or on Olympic live streams.
“As soon as I walked into the warm-down pool that final night, the tears started coming and filling up in my eyes, and [coach] Bob [Bowman] and I shared some of those emotional moments with one another”.
After collecting 23 Olympic gold medals, and 28 total medals, Phelps said he’s accomplished all the goals he set out to fulfill when he burst onto the worldwide stage.
“One of the biggest things I really wanted back was the 200-meter fly victory back”, said Phelps, who was beaten in that event by Chad Le Clos at London 2012.
Denmark’s Pernille Blume beat a field of world and Olympic champions to take gold in the women’s 50m freestyle and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri won the men’s 1,500m freestyle after dominating nearly from the start.
“This was the actual cherry on top of the cake and looking forward to starting a new chapter”.
She sees Phelps channeling his famous competitive drive into expanding their family and raising their kids.
Phelps added another half-dozen medals to his collection in the 2016 Games, running his total to 28 – 23 of which are gold.
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Phelps said he’s eager to play catch with his son in the backyard, take him to sporting events, do whatever he can to be a huge part of Boomer’s life. “I’ve been able to do everything I’ve ever put my mind to in the sport and after 24 years in the sport, I’m happy with how things finished”.
