Phelps retired after the London Games, so it looked like he wouldn’t get a chance to make up for his defeat.
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Call it the Rematch in Rio.
“There wasn’t a shot in hell I was losing that event [Tuesday night]”, Phelps said afterward. In the pool, he stood imperiously, like the heavyweight his duel with Le Clos had billed him as.
A pair of Hungarians could also be part of the mix.
When Phelps saw the “1” by his name, he held up one finger. He ended up swimming at a brisk pace after just coming off of an emotional victory over Chad Le Clos in the 200 m butterfly.
Kenderesi added: “Michael was my biggest idol when I was a child”.
The largely Brazilian crowd appreciated his performance in the pool on Tuesday night, chanting “Phelps, Phelps, Phelps” and “USA, USA, USA” after he secured what was then his 20th gold medal. His parents, both battling cancer, are cheering him on in Rio.
“That’s a lot of medals”, said Phelps. “When you swim for something greater than yourself, it can help you to achieve great things”.
“What happened four years ago really stuck with me”, Phelps said Tuesday night.
Remarkably, Phelps has won more than twice as many Olympic gold medals as the athlete second on the list, former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who has nine.
It was the most challenging individual race to win for Ledecky, who is expected to win the 800 free event later this week. Great Britain won silver in 7:03.13 while Japan took bronze in 7:03.50.
It was just another golden evening for the USA, with an earlier win by the peerless Katie Ledecky in the women’s 200 free, though she looked gassed in the middle of a tough race with Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom and said afterward: “That hurt pretty bad”.
Entering the arena like a gladiator, his face a granite mask of concentration, Phelps dominated a grudge final le Clos had billed as “Ali versus Frazier” to become the oldest individual swimming gold medallist in Olympic history at 31.
Hungary’s “Iron Lady” Hosszu completed the individual medley double by winning the 200m final in an Olympic best 2:06.58, with Britain’s Siobhan-Marie O’Connor taking silver in 2:06.88.
This was a moment for revenge for Michael Phelps and he took it.
Phelps joined the chorus of those demanding a clean competition.
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“I know how hard it is to swim in the wake in that race and I was going to do whatever I could to get them out (in) front”.
