Among the young swimmers Phelps will be supporting at the next Olympics is Katie Ledecky, already an icon herself at the age of 19 with five gold medals and three world records to her name.
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And the upcoming games Phelps is likely to be playing in are more likely ones that involve Boomer Robert Phelps, the first child for the champion swimmer and fiancée Nicole Johnson; their baby was born on May 5.
In his big speech to the U.S. Olympic swim team ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Games, the USA Swimming national team director suddenly brought up the presidential race. Back when races were only timed to one-tenth of a second, not one-hundredth as they are in the pool, US speedskaters shared silver at the 1968 Winter Olympics.
“It means so much to me to have the support from Maryland and the D.C. area, ” she said.
“This is special because I’m just able to start the next chapter of my life”.
Even though he won’t be competing anymore, Phelps said he will continue to support his teammates. “I look forward to going back”.
Monica Puig won Puerto Rico’s first gold medal in any sport in Olympic history, upsetting Angelique Kerber in the women’s tennis singles final. And now that he’s found a different goal in the sport of swimming, I think he’s gonna come back, because he wants that challenge.
In the final swimming event at 2016 Summer Games, the 31-year-old Phelps capped off his incomparable Olympic career with a gold medal in the men’s 4×100-meter medley relay.
“When I chose to come back I wanted to do it the right way”, he said. And everything just really hit hard’. “I think it showed in his swimming, it showed in his demeanor, and it certainly showed in his leadership on the team”.
They had their share of rough patches, Johnson explained in the Access Hollywood interview, but Debbie Phelps said she always knew Johnson was the one for her son.
Phelps says felt the emotional weight of his career coming to an end during the finals for Sunday’s 4x100m medley relay, his final event.
Phelps is concerned about one aspect of coaching – patience. “And I can’t say that about London … this was the way I wanted to hang up my suit four years ago”.
“That’s number one for me”, Phelps said. “That’s the difference. Because I knew this was the last time. It’s it. We’re finished.’ I’m happy with my career”.
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Phelps added another half-dozen medals to his collection in the 2016 Games, running his total to 28 – 23 of which are gold.
