She seemed to thrive on it.
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“I try not to think about the history much”, Ledecky said.
Ledecky took the gold in 8 minutes, 04.79 seconds. If her Olympic program went 100-200-400 instead of 200-400-800, the US might be a greater threat in the 4x100m freestyle relay and she might merit a spot on the 4x100m medley relay.
“That’s like winning an individual gold medal in 2028, that’s insane to think about”, said Ledecky, who won her first gold in the 800m free at London 2012 as the youngest member of the entire US delegation. However, Ledecky jumped out to an absolutely absurd lead right from the start. “I’m just proud to be part of that history”.
Before the Games began, Ledecky was asked if breaking the eight-minute barrier was within her reach.
“I was absolutely delighted to see Anthony Ervin jump on that lane liner and win his gold after 16 years”.
“I don’t know what to believe”, Schooling said.
Her 8:04.79 time was nearly 12 seconds faster than silver medalist Jazz Carlin of Great Britain. It was also 12 seconds after Ledecky finished that the silver medalist finally touched the wall.
On the medal stand Friday, the emotions swept over her.
She was surely thinking about all the work she put in to make it there, not to mention all the changes to come as she gets ready to head off to college.
“I had a lot of fun tonight”, Ledecky said. “Last night, I probably got the most sleep I’ve gotten all week”.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – A stunner at the Rio Olympics: Michael Phelps was beaten.
It’s been a good 24 hours for Ledecky and her roommate in Rio – she’s staying with Simone Manuel, who swam to her own gold medal last night.
The 31-year-old Phelps still has a chance to leave Rio with 23 golds in his career.
“A three-way tie is pretty wild”, Phelps said. It wasn’t a great swim but fourth is better than fifth. “It’s kind of special and a decent way to finish my last individual race”. “I’m numb right now”, – former National Football League star Michael Carter reflects on his daughter Michelle’s shock shot put triumph. No more. I swore in London I wasn’t coming back and this is final. “I’ll be happy if I’m even still swimming at that point”.
RIO DEJANEIRO-Katie Ledecky did it again.
And two other Americans won gold, too.
The American women had won three gold medals in consecutive Summer Games but on Friday they fell hard, losing to Sweden 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinals. Canada took the bronze in 7:45.39.
USA’s Michael Phelps dives in the Men’s 100m Butterfly Semifinal during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 11, 2016.
In 1968, a teenager in North Dakota watched transfixed as Debbie Meyer won the 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyles at the Mexico City Olympics.
The latest – of 8mins 4.79secs – is 14 seconds faster than the world record time Becky Adlington set in Beijing. “I think she will be over the moon”. Florent Manaudou of France claims silver and Nathan Adrian of the United States gets bronze.
The bronze medal round sees American Madison Keys play two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Then Ervin walked away from swimming, skipping the next two Olympics while he embarked on a journey to find his goal in life.
While Phelps wasn’t all that persuasive when he first retired after the 2012 London Games – and, indeed, he began eyeing a return to swimming about a year later – the big hug for Schooling and the huge smile when it was done told a different story this time.
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In Friday’s competition, the Italian shooters dominated, with Diana Bacosi taking the gold and her teammate, Chiara Cainero, winning the silver. “It brings back so many wonderful memories of when I was swimming, things that this old brain has forgotten”.
