Schooling also broke Phelps’ Olympic record. A 100-meter butterfly final is coming on Friday night.
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A Canadian commentator handed victory in the men’s 200m medley on Thursday to Ryan Lochte – despite the fact it was Michael Phelps who took Olympic victory. Though Lochte admitted after the race that he swam poorly, the timing makes Phelps’ dominance all the more stunning. But he’s the second-most-decorated swimmer in Olympic history. The trio engaged in trash talk last summer after the World Championships when Phelps was swimming at U.S. Nationals after being suspended by USA Swimming for his second DUI arrest.
For Phelps, this was the first event of these games in which he’s failed to win a gold medal. Medals certainly, probably at least one gold.
His teammate Ryan Lochte, who has spent most of his career in Phelps’ wake, finished fifth, behind Japan’s Kosuke Hagino and China’s Wang Shun.
In the last historic showdown between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte of the United States, the winningest Olympian of all time came up with yet another win as Lochte faded on the final 50 to finish off the podium. In the shadow of Phelps it’s so easy to forget, as it’s been throughout the entirety of their careers.
Le Clos said he hoped Phelps, 31, might have a rethink, just as he did after retiring four years ago.
The gold is Phelps’ fourth at this Games and fourth consecutive in the 200 IM. He also became the oldest man to win individual swimming gold, breaking a 96-year-old record set by Hawaiian surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku in 1920. The Russians trailed after each of the first seven bouts, but an emphatic 10-3 win by Artur Akhmatkhuzin in the eighth bout sparked the turnaround that earned Russia the gold medal.
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“I will be in Tokyo, but I won’t be competing in Tokyo”.
