Michael Phelps proved he is still the undisputed king of the swimming world. He put his head in his hands and then motioned at his neck as though he had nothing left to give. It was the American’s 21st Olympic gold medal.
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“It really wasn’t that bad”, said Phelps, who won both the 200 butterfly and 4×200 freestyle relay late Tuesday night.
The 31-year-old Phelps moved on to the evening semifinals, carrying on his bid to become a four-time champion in an event he first won at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
“Doing a double like that is a lot harder now than it once was”, he said.
Katie Ledecky is likely to continue her dominance in the 800m freestyle event.
Phelps now has 25 medals in all, and three more races in Rio to add to his nearly unimaginable total. He then rejoined the other swimmers and posed for more photos, wearing a beaming smile.
“I’m excited, I’m feeling really good this week”.
With challengers all around, Phelps simply wouldn’t be denied. I was just glad to get my hand on the wall first. I wanted another picture with him on the medal stand. “If that’s good enough to win, we’ll see”. “He usually sleeps all the time”.
The only thing that mattered was beating everyone else.
Phelps, who the 200m butterfly final less than an hour earlier, swum the final leg of the race to loud cheers from the packed arena. “I thought that cost me the race, but that won me the race”.
Four years ago, Phelps mistimed his finish in the wind-milling stroke he does better than anyone, gliding to the wall a little too long after his final whirl of the arms.
Phelps retired after those Games, as planned, but he returned 18 months later with unfinished business. But when he decided about a year later to start competing again, the 200 fly was clearly the title he wanted more than any other.
Phelps delivered a masterful two-event performance, leaving those observing at the Rio Aquatics Stadium on Tuesday night practically in disbelief. But the South African could only manage fourth this time, finishing behind bronze medalist Tamas Kenderesi of Hungary.
The relay was much less dramatic.
World record-holder Lochte won his heat in 1:57.38 to top the times, with Germany’s Philip Heintz second quickest in 1:57.59.
A jubilant Japan finished second while Great Britain claimed the bronze medal.
Ledecky, chasing her second gold of the Games after winning the 400-meter freestyle, edged out Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom and Australia’s Emma McKeon in a thrilling race.
This has been an Olympics of redemption for Hosszu, a long-time star at the world championships who always seemed to come up short on the biggest stage.
Sjostrom, who faced off with Ledecky two days after winning her own gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly, pronounced herself content. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor of Great Britain took silver.
The United States is also looking forward to a new era of gymnastics domination with Biles helping the US women’s team to victory by eight points over Russian Federation.
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For Phelps, another retirement looms.
