Katie Ledecky was the fastest swimmer in the pool, and she brought her American teammates along for the ride.
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Phelps won the 12th individual Olympic Gold medal of his career in the 200-meter butterfly Tuesday night.
Then, it was Ledecky’s turn on the anchor leg.
“I was so excited to get the call up today to be on this relay”, said DiRado.
The U.S. finished in 7 minutes, 43.03 seconds, with Ledecky a full body length ahead of Tamsin Cook, who touched in 7:44.87 to give Australia the silver. But viewers in Canada may have briefly thought the most decorated swimmer of all-time had finally faltered.
Ledecky’s relay time was only one-hundredth of a second slower than her winning time in the 200 free the previous night.
They’ll race against each other for the final time in the 200-meter individual medley, ending a 13-year rivalry that has been one of the greatest in swimming history.
Kayla Harrison is the defending Olympic champion and she’ll look to repeat in the women’s 78-kilogram (172 pounds) division.
Cate Campbell posted the fastest time in the semifinals, an Olympic-record 52.71 seconds and younger sister Bronte was fifth-fastest at 53.29. Kazakhstan claimed its first-ever swimming medal – a gold one, at that – when Dmitriy Balandin pulled off a stunning upset in the 200 breaststroke.
Aug 11, 2016- American Michael Phelps remains on course for his 26th Olympic medal after he reached the final of the 200m individual medley at the 2016 Olympics.
CBC’s Elliotte Friedman mistook Phelps for Lochte right up to the finish of Thursday’s race in Rio, only realising his mistake after the camera had zoomed in on a victorious Phelps.
Michael Phelps waggled four fingers, recognizing another historic achievement.
He won the stadion sprint (equivalent to the 200 meters), the diaulos (equivalent to the 400 meters), and the hoplitodromos, (200 meters while wearing a helmet and holding shield) in all four Olympics he competed in.
The swimmer still has several events left, including qualifiers for the men’s 100-meter butterfly on Thursday.
The race may have been Schmitt’s last swim but she was not ready to confirm anything.
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“We’ve got the rainbow now”, she added.
