Michael Phelps might be a swimming legend, but when he met up with fellow Olympian Katie Ledecky on Monday, he was the one asking for her autograph.
Advertisement
The U.S. 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. I don’t want to say London didn’t mean anything but this is how I wanted to finish. It is also apparent, however, he has not been able to elevate it much beyond what it has been – something people only care about during Olympic years and he knows he has work to do. It was his 23rd gold medal.
Michael Phelps was repeatedly pressed by Today show host Matt Lauer, but the most accomplished swimmer in Olympic history didn’t budge.
“I’m happy. I’m ready to spend some time with Boomer and Nicole and watch the little dude grow”, he said.
“I might let him take one”, Phelps said with a grin.
However, the favorite for that race has to be Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, who topped the prelim heats with a time of 2:06.09 and is seeking her fourth gold medal of the Rio Games.
As for Phelps, he is arguably the greatest Olympian of all time.
Phelps added that there was no chance he could be coaxed out of retirement for the Tokyo 2020 Games. “It was such an incredible race in the 100, with it all hyped up, it was pretty insane”.
And as Phelps has declared these his final Games, this photo becomes emblematic of a passing of the torch in United States swimming.
Phelps’ parents divorced when he was a child, and the swimmer had a strained relationship with his father, Fred, for years.
“It’s incredible. Really. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a child and it’s unbelievable”, the 21-year-old said.
Advertisement
Ranomi Kromowidjojo, the 2012 Olympic champion from the Netherlands, finished sixth while Australia’s Campbell sisters Cate and Bronte again failed to win medals in an individual sprint. Several of Phelps’ younger teammates talked of getting his autograph or having posters of him on their wall when they were children. Nathan Adrian pulled away on the freestyle to win in an Olympic-record time of 3 minutes, 27.95 seconds.
