Maya DiRado of the United States was third fastest as she also chases her fourth medal in Rio. If he gets through to Friday’s final, he’ll also be seeking his fourth gold in a row in that event.
Advertisement
Phelps said in his post-swim press conference on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning, SA time) that he would not be swimming the 200m butterfly again.
The rivalry between Le Clos and Phelps had turned a little nasty in the build-up to the race, especially when Le Clos’s pre-swim warm-up in the semi-finals had rubbed Phelps up the wrong way.
Michael Phelps goes for a fourth straight title in the 100m butterfly – a race that has provided some of his most nail-biting finishes.
No swimmer has ever won four golds in the same individual event in consecutive Olympics. Neither Scott Goldblatt nor Dan Ketchum – two possible replacements for Phelps – swam faster than 1 minute, 48 seconds in Round 1 for the USA men’s team, illustrating how critical Phelps was to the team’s chances at reaching the podium.
US swimmers Maya DiRado and Missy Franklin advanced to Thursday night’s semifinals for the women’s 200-meter backstroke, posting the third and 11th fastest times, respectively.
By competing in the first semi, Phelps has less time to warm down after the 200 IM. If he can hang on for another year I’d appreciate it so much.
You can hear kids in the background cheering for Phelps – as if he needed their added support – probably in the hopes of befriending the half man/half fish at a young age.
Katie Ledecky, with 200m and 400m free gold secured, vies to complete her treble in the 800m freestyle and the signs are more than good for the reigning Olympic champion and world record-holder. Evgeny Rylov was the leading qualifier in 1 minute, 54.45 seconds. She still posted the best time by nearly seven seconds. Ervin, the 2000 Olympic champion in the 50, was clocked in 21.63. That’s three more gold medals for an athlete who has none.
Katinka Hosszu of Hungary qualified fastest for the 200 backstroke in 2:06.09. She already has won the 100 back, along with the 200 and 400 individual medleys.
“Right now, I’m taking it one race at a time”, said Franklin, who is struggling to understand her puzzling lack of form this year. “My goal is going to be making it into the finals”.
Advertisement
Similarly, maybe some of Lochte’s gold medals in relays wouldn’t have happened without Phelps’ help.
