They’re the best of friends, they’re the best of rivals.
Advertisement
The evening session Thursday will provide fans with some great television, as Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte both qualified for the men’s 200m individual medley final. The chance to watch Phelps take on Lochte and others one last time in one of his best competitions should be must-watch TV (or live stream if you prefer).
Ledecky seeks her fourth gold medal in Rio, which would tie her with Amy Van Dyken (1996) and Missy Franklin (2012) as the only American female athletes to win that many in a single Olympics.
The sisters already have teamed up to lead Australia to a gold medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay.
“(Coach) Bruce (Gemmell) just told me to think about my rhythm the first 200 and then he didn’t give any other instructions”, said the world record holder and defending champion who has become unbeatable at the distance. They were the one-two punch again during the 2016 Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Lochte, meanwhile, would probably have a gold medal of his own in the 200-meter individual medley if it wasn’t for Phelps.
Before Phelps and Lochte go at it in the pool, Katie Ledecky swims the preliminaries of the 800 freestyle, her last individual event in Rio.
Phelps is the heavy favorite, as he should be. He is also the second most decorated swimmer ever – Phelps has 25 total, 21 of them gold.
However, Lochte said he also embraces the challenge of swimming against Phelps.
For Lochte, this final race could mean more.
He was lauded by the Rio crowd with one banner proclaiming “Phelps Greatest Olympian Ever” and Phelps swayed slightly and breathed deeply as he listened to the US anthem at the victory ceremony with his eyes moist. Enough golds to further cement his status as the most-decorated Olympian of all time and ― somehow even more impressively ― enough individual victories to break a more than 2,000-year-old Olympic record, set by Leonidas of Rhodes in 152 B.C.
Advertisement
Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte have been two of the biggest faces in American swimming over the past dozen years.
