‘This is the way I wanted to finish my career, ‘ says Michael Phelps of the U.S., who medalled for gold one last time in Rio de Janeiro. Phelps captured five gold medals and one silver at these Games, including his fourth consecutive Olympic gold in the 200-meter individual medley and another gold in the 200-meter butterfly.
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“This is the part of my life where I get to start this whole new chapter …” By un-retiring for Rio, Phelps enabled us to pretend that this wasn’t quite the end until, of course, it was. “This is just the start of something new”.
The women’s 10-kilometer marathon swim is taking place Monday just off of Copacabana Beach and most of the elite swimmers will take about two hours to complete the 6.2-mile course.
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Phelps’ swan song (at least for Rio) also drove a spike in streaming viewing. Fans who have been curious about Phelps’ medal count have been searching for terms such as “who has the most gold medals ever?” “Come on”, as they laughed sarcastically.
“No, I’m done”, he said. This is it. I’m done. Because I was able to come back and do what I did here.
Standing atop the medal podium for the 23rd time, listening the “The Star-Spangled Banner” as he’s done so many times before, Phelps teared up a bit and gave a little nod.
Phelps sank into his chair with the audible sigh of an old lion for his final Q-and-A.
In the only event he didn’t win in Rio, he was beaten by a 21-year-old from Singapore, Joseph Schooling, who grew up idolizing the American star. At age 15 at the 2012 London Olympics she surprisingly won the women’s 800-meter freestyle. “After winning the 200m fly, I was like ‘OK, this could really happen.’ Then, [after] the 200m IM, I was like, ‘We are on target'”.
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The victor, however, never seemed in doubt after world champion Paltrinieri took the lead at 150 metres and wore down the rest of the field to win by 4.91 seconds.
Two-time gold medalist Murphy put the Americans out front with a world-record split on the backstroke – it counts since he was leading off – but Britain surged ahead on the breaststroke with its own world-record holder, Adam Peaty.
Her biggest challenge will likely come from teammate Laurie Hernandez, who edged Biles during the U.S. Olympic Trials last month.
He wants to help empower the world’s swimmers when it comes to the sport’s decision-making and changing some rules to benefit them.
“I felt very inspired this week, for sure”, he said. “That’s all I can really say”.
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Overall, the United States led all nations in the swim events with 33 medals, 16 gold.
