At the 50-metre turn of the women’s 100-metre freestyle race in Rio, she was seventh, nearly a full second behind the leader, Cate Campbell of Australia.
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Now, she has a real opportunity to do what no Olympian has ever done – win a team gold, an all-around gold and then three more gold medals on individual apparatus between now and Tuesday.
“At the turn I kind of saw that I was pretty far behind. Just surpassing that goal and getting an American record on top of a gold medal is super exciting for me”.
Phelps didn’t just win – he smashed it. The first time she vaulted, she stopped on the first one, sailed way over on the second and scored a zero.
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, the Olympic 100m butterfly champion who took the bronze in 52.99, was astonished.
And while they played the US anthem first, and raised the Stars and Stripes above the red Maple Leaf during the victory ceremony there was no question as to which nation was happier and more relieved.
He became the first swimmer to win the same event at four consecutive Olympics with the win, clocking in 1 minute 54.66 seconds for 200m individual medley on Thursday, nearly two seconds ahead of Japan’s Kosuke Hagino.
But you try sitting for an hour in an enclosed space with a gathering of worldwide media a week into the Olympics, a time by which the global media, and trust me on this, is in desperate need of a Tic Tac. Teammate Leah Smith also made the final.
Cal’s Ryan Murphy looked stoic after winning his second gold medal with a victory in the 200-meter backstroke. Cullen Jones was the best known, having won two golds and two silvers at the last two Olympics.
Oleksiak, the first Olympic champion born in the 21st century, has now won four medals in Rio.
She added: “We’re basically like sisters and will have this forever”.
“It is something I’ve definitely struggled with a lot”, Manuel said. “It’s adrenaline. She’s like, ‘Gotta go, gotta go.’ Because you can’t duplicate adrenaline”.
#GabbyDouglas is a role model and honestly i don’t blame her for being “salty”.
Her brothers chose a different yet just as competitive sport: Basketball. “I was just hoping I would be able to get second”.
“Well, obviously, yes!” she said with emphasis, as if to say, “Duh!” “She gave us a heart attack”.
“We were always encouraged to try what we wanted to do”. She gave us a heart attack in the first 50.
Biles packs so much difficulty into her routines that she starts with a point or two cushion.
Manuel’s parents put her in swimming lessons at age 4 so she would learn how to be safe in water, she said this year. That’s why, as Nancy Armour wrote, she cemented herself as the greatest gymnast ever.
“That’s a normal score for me”, Biles said.
The original plan was to have Oleksiak come to Rio and get used to the big stage, bright lights and media attention. Now she can say she’s the greatest of all-time.
This story has been corrected to say no one will be fired over the headline instead of no one disciplined, and to fix the spelling of the columnist’s name to Kawakami instead of Kawakwami. He’d been forecasting somewhere between zero and four medals-Thursday night makes five-and double the seven finals the 2012 team made in London. In the 1960s, many whites left cities for private pools and clubs in the suburbs, where segregation continued to exist.
“It’s very special to finally be on the podium”.
She was ready for the Olympic moment everyone had been expecting from her for three years.
But no one is disputing that it is the 16-year-old Oleksiak who is driving the bus. Only two competitors can compete per nation in the final.
She is a true inspiration to so many young athletes out there watching, wondering if they have what it takes.
“I think that the U.S. team is now very strong and practically we can not reach up to this level”, Mustafina said.
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Phelps has won this event at the last three Olympic Games but expect strong competition from the likes of world record holder Ryan Lochte.
