Katie Ledecky of the United States celebrates winning gold and setting a new world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games.
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World champion and current 100m world record holder Adam Peaty of Great Britain will face a challenge from Americans Cody Miller and Kevin Cordes, and from South African Cameron van der Burgh.
Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, now has 19 golds, two silvers and two bronzes.
A dominant performance saw Adam Peaty deliver Great Britain’s first medal of the Rio Olympics before he proclaimed: “I did it for my country”.
Ledecky is known for her ability to maintain her pace throughout longer competitions, and this race was no different.
2016 Rio Olympics – Swimming – Victory Ceremony – Women’s 400m Freestyle Victory Ceremony – Olym …
Ledecky, who has gone from strength to strength since her surprise win in the 800m freestyle as a 15-year-old in London, has now broken 12 world records since then.
Waiting for her at Stanford, will be Lia Neal, a 21-year-old swimmer from Brooklyn who shared a room with Ledecky on her first Team USA training camp before London 2012.
“Four years ago, I was watching in London cheering everyone on, this time I am in the pool and I have won a medal”.
The last British man to win an Olympic swimming gold was Adrian Moorhouse in the same event in 1988, six years before Peaty was born.
But she tore that time to pieces to finish ahead of Britain’s Jazz Carlin and US teammate Leah Smith.
Phelps has 18 gold medals-more than twice as many as any other human in sporting history-but he better watch out, Ledecky is hot on his heels. American Dana Vollmer took the bronze.
“The feeling is totally insane”.
“You can tell she is very goal-oriented, and for me it brought me back to kind of what I was like way, way, way back in the day”, 22-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps said.
Dana Vollmer competes in the women’s 100-meter butterfly at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 6, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. “I knew I was due for a breakthrough”. “I tried to stay calm before the race, but I am gobsmacked”. “It’s nothing. I know what to do'”.
Revelations of a state-sponsored doping system in her native Russian Federation led to Efimova being banned from Rio because of a previous 16-month suspension for doping, not to mention another positive test this year for the now-banned substance meldonium.
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She is one of the most successful divers in history, having won eight world titles on top of her Olympic successes.
