He led at the midway point but faded to fifth. It might be have been the best 100 meters of his life.
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The Fiji men’s rugby team won the country’s first-ever gold medal after handily defeating Great Britain in the championship rugby sevens match 43-7.
Who knew there were records Phelps had yet to tie or break? Lochte, 32, hasn’t decided what the future will hold but has found himself more in the background in Rio, with the 200 IM being his only individual event.
Four years later in Athens, Greece, Phelps won eight medals. Phelps has had to take more of a generalist’s approach to training – but he’s Michael Phelps.
In other events Wednesday afternoon, world-record holder Cate Campbell of Australia was top qualifier in the 100 freestyle with an Olympic-record time of 52.78.
Lochte, though, has but one individual event: the 200 IM.
CBS Baltimore affiliate WJZ on Wednesday dusted off a 15-year-old video from the archives showing Phelps, a Maryland native, talking about his hopes for gold in the coming years.
That future, he was determined, would include the chance to avenge a rare Olympic defeat – South African Chad Le Clos’s fingertip victory in the 200m butterfly in London four years ago. Once again, that “lost” 2012 Olympics (which still turned out pretty good) felled him. He promptly quit the most grueling race on his program.
While Phelps uses the cupping technique to relieve soreness and heal his muscles, Manduca-Marquez says it has many other benefits. After Thursday, it’s one down, one to go.
For example, in 2008 the USA men’s swim team set a world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with Phelps producing a split time of 47.51 seconds. (Combined!) It’ll be the toughest individual race he’ll have in Rio.
Thursday’s victory was Phelps’ 22nd Olympic gold medal as he continues to extend his record as the most successful Olympian of all time. But it’s a bittersweet win too. He cruised through his heat with the third-fastest time overall, 1 minute, 58.41 seconds, which trailed only American teammate Ryan Lochte (1:57.38) and Germany’s Philip Heintz (1:57.59).
‘There was so much emotion and so much build-up for that race, ‘ Phelps said.
Moments later, however, the game face was back on and he strode out for the relay, seeking to claim a fourth consecutive gold in the event.
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No one should, or will, cry for Ryan.
