The most decorated athlete in Olympic history insisted again Sunday that his swimming career is over, less than 24 hours after claiming his 23rd gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay.
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Michael Phelps at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 13, 2016.
The Americans won in an Olympic record of 3min 27.95sec with Great Britain’s Chris Walker-Hebborn, Peaty, Guy and Duncan Scott second in 3:29.24.
“Getting off the bus and walking to the pool tonight, I pretty much felt myself starting to crack”, he said as he approached his final night of Olympic competition.
“I have to wait another four years to have this moment and I just wanted to enjoy it all and put my very best swim out there”, Ledecky said after her final race in Rio. That’s why I came back after ’12. “And being able to cap it off is just the flawless way to finish”.
Phelps’ emotional investment was evident as the meet unfolded over the past week, whether embracing young team-mate Ryan Held for breaking into tears on the medal stand or rushing to the crowd at the aquatics centre for a group hug with his son, fiancee and mother, the 31-year-old acted like a man absolutely sure of himself.
“No matter what country you swim for, you’re indebted to Michael Phelps for bringing a lot of exposure to the sport and making it a little more mainstream”, Murphy said.
The U.S. has won the 4×100 medley relay in every Olympics since 1960, except the 1980 Games which the Americans boycotted. Phelps is a family man and has always celebrated his wins with his depleted family and according to the swimmer, not having his father around during his childhood wasn’t easy at all. “I’ve received a lot of support and that’s phenomenal”, Schooling said.
“We are in great shape, not only with Katie but with the team we have now”, Phelps said.
King swam the second leg of the medley relay, the breaststroke, bringing the United States of America from fourth place to second. Justin Rose of Britain is the third-round leader and will be trying to win golf’s first gold medal in 112 years.
Kathleen Baker, Lilly King and Dana Vollmer joined Manuel in the historic victory, which came with a time of 3:53.13.
“Just sharing that with three other women is just icing on the top of the cake”. Simone Manuel of the US earned another Olympic medal in the pool, this one a silver in the women’s 50-meter freestyle. He earned bronze in the 100 fly at last year’s world championships in Russian Federation, and he owns a slew of medals from the Asian, Commonwealth and Southeast Asian Games.
“It’s incredible. Really. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a child and it’s awesome”, said the 21-year-old Paltinieri.
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In the day’s other final, Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy won the men’s 1,500 freestyle in 14:34.57, beating Connor Jaeger of the USA (14:39.48) and Italian compatriot Gabriele Detti (14:40.86). My swimming career might be over, but I have this future ahead of me, and I can just turn the page and start whatever I want.
