That’s the big thing on the schedule for Thursday night, although Rio will have more to offer. He is expected to swim next in the men’s 100 butterfly final Friday night, and then the medley relay Saturday evening.
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The Brazilians have a stake in the 200 IM, too. Lochte finished an equally stunning fifth.
“I don’t know how to wrap my head around that”, Phelps said. This is a special one for both of us.
Ryan Lochte was left in his wake every time. “It’s going to be a pretty good matchup”.
Kelley (L) and Courtney (R) Hurley celebrate winning the Bronze Medal Match 31-30 against Russian Federation during the Women’s Epee Team Fencing Finals on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Madison Keys plays a forehand during the Women’s Singles second round match against Kristina Mladenovic of France on Day 3 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 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. Lochte qualified second, precisely half a second slower. By the time the Tokyo Olympics take place in 2020, Phelps will be 35 years old.
He was always favourite for the 200m butterfly, the event in which he made his Olympic bow as a 15-year-old at Sydney 2000. As much as Phelps and Bob Bowman, his coach, talked about swimming a stripped-down program in Rio, it turns out Phelps will swim in six events. He finished a flawless eight-for-eight in events, as he took home eight gold medals in the 2008 games. This has been one of his hallmark events for more than a decade, only to see it end in disappointment this year.
He had his 20th and 21st gold medals. But at US trials, he missed making the team in the 400 IM, in which he won gold in London, as well as the 200 free.
Phelps hustled off after his victory, knowing he had to come back about 40 minutes later for the semifinals of the 100 butterfly, another event he’ll be trying to win for the fourth straight time.
“It’s definitely different”, Lochte said.
“I remember looking up to all these guys, they were my idols”, said Murphy, referring to Lenny Krayzelburg, Aaron Peirsol and Lochte, who were among the American winners at the past four Games. Neither is likely to approach that number Thursday night.
There is no one else yet in Phelps’ stratosphere in swimming but the two women who are closest – Katinka Hosszu of Hungary and U.S. team-mate Katie Ledecky – were the two other winners Tuesday night.
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“You can’t count out Thiago”, Phelps said.
