RIO DE JANEIRO Michael Phelps left the Olympic pool for the last time on Saturday having fulfilled a childhood dream, but it is clear he will not be walking away from the sport that has turned him into a global household name.
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The United States of America closed the Rio Olympics swimming competition with a final dominating flourish on Saturday, sweeping the medley relay events and sending Michael Phelps out on a triumphant note.
Ryan Murphy gave the U.S.an early half-second lead in the 4×100 meter relay, setting a world record as Cody Miller jumped, keeping the U.S.in contention as Phelps jumped in to attempt to get the lead back.
Miller, who lives and graduated high school in Las Vegas, helped the USA set an Olympic record with a time of 3:27.95.
Most of the US swim team was in the stands to watch Phelps’ finale, including the biggest female star at the pool, Katie Ledecky.
Even so, he got four more gold medals in London. Connor Jaeger of the United States took silver in 14:39.48, while the bronze went to another Italian, Gabriele Detti, in 14:40.86. Americans have won 11 straight world and Olympic titles in the event since 2006. Ledecky, who took a picture with Phelps when she was 9 years old, now has 5 gold and 1 silver medal.
“It’s the Olympics”, said US swimmer Katie Ledecky, a five-time victor of Olympic gold.
The Beijing Games, where Phelps surpassed the Spitz standard by winning eight golds, offered a dramatic miniseries, from the Jason Lezak superhuman anchor leg in the 4×100-meter freestyle to Phelps’ photo finish in the 100-meter butterfly.
All eyes were on double defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the women’s 100 meters.
MA native Genevra Stone captured a silver medal in the women’s single sculls.
The U.S. women’s fencing team took the bronze, making team member Ibtihaj (IHB’-tih-haj) Muhammad the first American medalist to compete wearing a hijab.
The women’s doubles gold will either go to Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland or Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russian Federation.
Beyond that, Ledecky pointed to a US trials format that sets up the team to perform well at the Olympics. Hanock hit 119 of 125 targets to end up two points shy of the final qualifying spot.
Halsall was back in the pool for the women’s 4x100m medley relay but she was unable to help Great Britain to a medal as they finished seventh.
DeMont tried for decades to get the medal back, saying he was wronged because the USOC did not properly disclose to Olympic officials that he was on medication – and that if they had done so, his ephedrine level would not have led to his ban. Rose eagled two of his first five holes on Saturday in a 6-under 66 that puts him 12 under for the tournament.
American Justin Gatlin posted the fastest time in the Rio heats.
In 1981, Team USA hockey’s “Miracle on Ice” sent chills up the spines of Americans with an upset of the Soviet Union.
“I think he wants to wrap it up knowing that he gave everything and prepared well did it the right way”, Bowman said.
At the Baltimore Ravens’ first pre-season home game on Thursday, the football literally came to a stop for roughly two minutes to air Phelps’ winning performance in the 200m IM over the stadium big screens. The paper reported online that the Research Institute of Physical Culture and Sports had a supply of anabolic steroids to inject track and field athletes.
Or, at least in the United States, to duke it out with the American professional leagues for attention – this means, yes, the NFL, NBA, baseball and NHL, even for goodness sake the lower-level soccer played in MLS?
Phelps also has more golds than 62 countries – including India, which has so far won nine golds in the modern Olympics and has 26 medals overall.
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At its current rate, China won’t reach 1,000 golds until 2100.
