The first of those is Thursday night, and in many ways it is the most interesting.
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Phelps said he is excited about the finals, not only for what means to be in Olympics finals but also for the rivals he will be meeting in the pool. It’s how they ended at the 2012 London games, where Phelps became the first male swimmer to three-peat in an individual Olympic event.
Phelps joined discus thrower Al Oerter and Carl Lewis in the long jump as the only Olympians to win the same individual event at four straight Games.
The race may have been Schmitt’s last swim but she was not ready to confirm anything.
It has to be weird being around Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte as an acquaintance or teammate of the duo who have been swimming with and against each other in global competition for over a decade now. It’s more friendly than competitive these days, and lacks the animosity that’s simmering underneath Phelps’ rivalry with South African swimmer Chad Le Clos. With one egg left in his basket, another 200 IM showdown against Phelps. “I’m looking forward to it”. “He usually just sleeps all the time”, the Baltimore Bullet said.
Joseph Schooling of Singapore topped the 100 fly heats in 51.41.
Le Clos added that he had never feared Phelps and that he still doesn’t now. The 19-year-old American was almost seven seconds faster than anyone else.
“The history him and I have had with one another it’s something special”, said Phelps, who won his record 20th and 21st Olympic gold medals on Tuesday. “It’s all just about doing my best every time”.
What has hindered Lochte in this race on the Olympic stage in the past has been a combination of things. Two years ago, Russian Federation annexed his home of Crimea and he rejected changing nationality. He’s more apt to credit Phelps for inspiring him to continue swimming at a high level.
“I’m living in the moment, man”, said the joint 2000 Sydney gold medallist.
“So I am not going to say what happened and what didn’t happen, it will be disrespectful to Michael and the other two guys”.
A pair of Americans, Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin, had the second and third best times in the heats. Adrian, bronze medalist in the 100 free on Wednesday, touched in 21.61.
“My goal was to win one gold”, Murphy said. She made the podium again in Rio by finishing third in the 400 individual medley.
Hilary Caldwell of Canada had the second quickest time of 2:07.40.
In the women’s all-around, Simone Biles is the favorite to win gold and Aly Raisman will be a medal contender. In the women’s individual time trials, defending champion Kristin Armstrong of Team USA took the gold.
Lochte has owned the 200 IM world record for seven years, but Phelps usually comes out on top against him.
The two men had dominated the event for 12 years internationally as an Olympic IM tandem, but Lochte faded late in the event at the Rio Games and finished fifth.
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“Finally, he’s going to do it”. He already has golds in the 4×100 and 4×200 freestyle relays, as well as in the 200 butterfly.
