Together, the two swam in the preliminary 4×200-meter freestyle relay, qualifying the team for finals, where the men won gold. Ervin was first in the men’s 50-meter freestyle. Though she managed to qualify for Rio by finishing fourth at the world championships last November, she noticed an odd and troubling symptom when she ramped up her training program early this year: her eyes would start shaking in the middle of her routine.
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Only 37 athletes – 18 of them American – have won four gold medals at the same Games since the dawn of the modern Olympics in 1896. Now Phelps has the chance to win even more medals in Rio.
In the relay, Schmitt captured gold in what was likely the final race of her career. “The memories mean more than the medals to me”.
Considering what MacLennan has been through over the a year ago as she recovered from a pair of concussions that threatened her career, hard to blame her. Now, the 31-year-old will return to Arizona with his fiancée and their 3-month-old son, Boomer, and settle into fatherhood. He’ll soon be marrying his fiancee, Nicole Johnson.
Was he happy with that time, slower than he swam at US trials? “I’m ready to spend some time with Boomer and Nicole and watch the little dude grow”.
The 21-time Olympic champion was a half a second ahead of longtime American rival Ryan Lochte, who was the second-fastest qualifier. When Gemmell, 55, spoke to a handful of reporters well after midnight, emotionally drained, one of them asked what that private moment with her had been like, and he needed 75 seconds, sighing multiple times, turning his back twice and walking away, cursing under his breath at his inability to stay composed, to find the voice to whisper a few halting words.
In an upset, Singapore’s Joseph Schooling defeated Michael Phelps in the 100-meter butterfly Friday.
“I think he did (need swimming)”, Bowman said. “I don’t know why I’m crying”.
This year, Ervin has already won another gold medal as part of the 4×100-meter relay team, which had Adrian as its anchor. Ledecky removed her top swim cap and her goggles, took a deep breath.
Most of the attention Thursday will be on Michael Phelps, who complained that his fifth Olympics is the most painful yet.
Hilary Caldwell of Canada had the second quickest time of 2:07.40.
She joined Debbie Meyer as the only women to sweep the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle races at the same Olympics. Meyers took the 200, 400 and 800 at Mexico City in 1968.
Then she waited for the rest of the field to finish.
Ledecky was barely breathing hard. “I’m sorry if I don’t seem like I’m full of emotions right now”.
The champion US women’s gymnastics team will be immortalized in all their gold medal glory on a commemorative Special K Red Berries box. Then, Ervin walked away from swimming, skipping the next two Olympics while he embarked on a journey to find his objective in life.
Turns out, it was swimming all along. He returned to make the American team in 2012, but failed to win a medal in London.
On paper, it was a three-horse race a best for for the top spot on the podium. Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, who already has three Rio golds, went through first.
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That left New Zealand’s 2015 world championships silver medalist Lauren Boyle out in the cold after she finished ninth.
