Phelps finished fist in his heat for the 200 meter individual medley and he had teammate Ryan Lochte right behind them. For much of their careers, Phelps has defeated Lochte.
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“It’s been a really fun journey over the last couple of years, and a journey that I think has made me the person who I am and helped me transform to me just being me”, he added of his relationship. It’s obviously a very emotional event for me, and it’s something that’s very special. “I guess you would say I’d be like the Michael Phelps of swimming if he wasn’t there”.
No one dares dream like this. But outside of the relays, their rivalry has been one for the ages – arguably one of the best in sports history. Missy Franklin is still struggling to regain the form she showed in winning Olympic gold in this event in London.
It’s astonishing to celebrate Phelps’ 22 gold medal, just as astonishing as it’s been for the last dozen he’s won, each of which successively set an Olympic record. (Combined!) It’ll be the toughest individual race he’ll have in Rio.
Phelps will be doing double duty Thursday night.
Besides him standing on top of the podium, the constant in every Phelps 200 IM win, from Athens to Beijing to London to Rio, has been Lochte standing next to him.
Lochte hit the wall at 1:57.47. Coverage of the preliminary heats begin at 12 p.m. EDT. He’ll also have the chance to do that later during the Rio games in the 100-meter butterfly.
Phelps will be seeking his fourth straight 200 IM title at the Olympics. Ledecky began her leg of the race just under a second behind Australia before she destroyed the field and won by almost two seconds.
She described him as “kind, humble and, of course, unbelievably good looking” – and insisted he has ‘more depth than you could imagine’. The distance was striking. “We’ve been racing since 2004”.
Nobody saw this coming.
The next closest competitor to Ledecky in Thursday’s prelims was Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas, who was 6.57 seconds behind, followed by British swimmer Jazz Carlin at 6.81 seconds behind.
Another victory would be Phelps’ 22nd career gold.
He is the immortal of his sport, and though he’s on record as saying this is his last Olympics, expect many to question and implore him as to why that has to be.
Here are four of the biggest Things to Watch during the Summer Games Thursday. The clock is ticking down on Phelps, who races five more times before hanging up his suit at age 31. “He usually just sleeps all the time”, the Baltimore Bullet said.
“I’ve said before we started there is a possibility I could come in here and win two golds, two silvers or two fourths but I have to do a lot better”. But at the same time I love a challenge, and that’s why I do the events that I do and going up against him is a challenge.
Phelps could also perform the feat in the 100m butterfly.
“He’s won twenty-one gold medals”, Silva said.
Later in the evening, Simone Manuel made history for the US, setting a new Olympic record in the 100-m freestyle and becoming the first African-American woman to win an individual swimming gold.
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“Hurt”, Phelps said of how swimming the 100 fly semifinal felt.
