It’s the first time an Olympic swimmer has won four consecutive gold medals, and Phelps, who waved four fingers in the air after his win, admitted in an interview afterwards that “when the announcer said that, I had a really hard time pulling it together”.
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Phelps clocked 1 minute, 54.66 for a comfortable winning margin of 1.95 seconds over 400 IM champion Kosuke Hagino of Japan. Fraser ran off four straight birdies before the wind arrived and kept right on going until he had an 8-under 63, giving him a three-shot lead over British Open champion Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Graham DeLaet of Canada. “I’ve been able to come back and I’ve been able to accomplish things that I just dreamt of”, he said.
“Doing the hundred back and having a good time in that helped me to realize that I could do better in the 200 back than I did at trials”.
Michael Phelps added to the record books with Olympic gold medal No. 22. “I want to win just like anybody else”.
Ryan Murphy completed a sweep of the men’s backstroke events in the 200, but the most socially significant triumph was Simone Manuel tying 16-year-old Canadian Penny Oleksiak for the top spot in the 100 freestyle.
“Things started to hit me this morning”, he said.
“One last time! #USA #longjourney #12years”, he captioned the photo.
Le Clos is due to race in the final of the 100m butterfly and this could have an impact on his decision around the relay, considering his struggles in the 200m fly earlier in the week.
As usual, Phelps pulled off the grueling double, advancing to Friday night’s final with the fifth-fastest time.
While Phelps became one of only three athletes to have won titles in the same individual event at four straight Games, Chen tested positive for a diuretic, the Chinese Swimming Association told state media. The trio engaged in trash talk last summer after the World Championships when Phelps was swimming at U.S. Nationals after being suspended by USA Swimming for his second DUI arrest.
“I feel grateful to all who supported me and I really wish I would have a chance in the near future to respond to their support and to thank them”. “That was a real breakthrough for me to be able to win that one”.
China’s Jinglin Shi won bronze, just six one-hundreths of a second ahead of fourth-placed Tutton. “I’m happy for him”, Lochte said.
Ryan Murphy won the men’s 200-meter backstroke to keep the US streak alive in that event.
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Australia’s Mitchell Larkin finished second and Russia’s Evgeny Rylov set a new European record as he won bronze.
