Texas sophomore Joseph Schooling posted the third-fastest time ever in the 100-meter butterfly and captured the gold medal in 50.39 seconds, just fractions ahead of Phelps, who was competing in the final individual event of his historic career.
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In 2008, Schooling’s mother, May Schooling, asked the government to allow her son to defer his National Service responsibility so that he could train uninterrupted in his quest to win a medal at the Rio Olympics. “Throwing me out there for another four years.’ If he wants to come back for another four years, it will be fun to watch”. But the transition began Friday, when three American swimmers stood on the top of the podium, none of them named Phelps.
Ervin won gold in this same event 16 years ago – and he made headlines for selling that medal for $17,000 back in 2004, when he donated the proceeds to UNICEF to help relief efforts in tsunami-stricken Indonesia.
After the medal ceremony, the pair were deep in conversation on the pool deck, and Schooling said he told Phelps the feeling was “out of this world”.
For comparison: Katie Ledecky, who won the women’s 800m free Friday night in a crazy-fast world-record 8:04.79, now stands at four golds and a silver.
If she wins the final on Friday, Ledecky will become the first swimmer since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to sweep the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles.
Phelps, 31, is the most decorated Olympian, with 27 medals, having added to his staggering tally with four gold in Rio. Their tie also included Laszlo Cseh of Hungary – meaning that this race has three silver medalists.
The 29-year-old Jamaican, who is gunning for an unprecedented triple triple with a 100m, 200m and 400m haul at these games, like always, stepped up a gear after a slow start and soon surged past the rest of the field, with Fisher turning on his afterburners to catch the Jamaican.
“We all tied for second – that’s kind of cool”, Phelps said.
Some 23 seconds after Ledecky touched the wall, the last of the eight finalists finally got to the end of the grueling race.
Hilary Caldwell of Canada had the second quickest time of 2:07.40.
Ledecky was barely breathing hard.
The U.S. goalie called the Swedish team “a bunch of cowards” after they beat the favored U.S. women’s soccer team 4-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw Friday at the Rio Olympics.
The first Games of the Modern Olympics produced the fewest golds (11) while the Soviet-boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Olympics generated the most (83). Hungary’s Tamas Kenderesi took bronze in 1:53.62.
And then Phelps can walk away on his own two feet knowing he’s accomplished everything he wanted to.
Turns out, it was swimming all along. He then wandered through a personal wilderness in his 20s, re-emerging to make the 2012 Olympic team.
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Both Ledecky’s and Phelps’ races came after a contest that saw the continuing breakthrough of American Maya DiRado, who won gold in the women’s 200-meter backstroke at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Barra’s Olympic Park. She certainly has nothing to complain about after winning two golds, a silver and a bronze. “I’ve been able to come back and I’ve been able to accomplish things that I just dreamt of”, he said. “I tried to keep it all under control, but there’s been a lot of tears these last 24 hours”.
