Reuters
Rio de Janeiro, August 12: Michael Phelps of the United States won the Olympic 200 metres individual medley Thursday to capture the 22nd gold medal of his career and become the first swimmer to win the same event at four consecutive Games. The gold took Phelps overall tally to 26, the same number of medals that India have managed to get at the Olympics since they started participating in 1900.
Japan’s 400 IM champion Kosuke Hagino won silver and Wang Shun of China took bronze, both moving dramatically through the field on the final length after turning in fifth and seventh place.
It was yet another extraordinary swim for Phelps, 31, who has now won two individual and two relay golds at his fifth Olympics, two years after coming out of retirement.
“Right now I don’t know how to wrap my head around that. I don’t know what to say. It’s been a hell of a career,” Phelps told reporters, while acknowledging the strain on his 31-year-old body. “That hurt a lot … my body is in pain, my legs are hurting, I’m tired.”
Despite winning four golds in London in 2012, Phelps has said he was dissatisfied with his preparation and results there and wants to bow out on his own terms.
“The biggest thing for me through the meet so far is I’ve been able to kind of finish how I wanted to. I’ve been able to come back and I’ve been able to accomplish things that I just dreamt of,” he asserted.
In the medley, Brazil’s Thiago Pereira went off fastest, leading from Phelps after the butterfly leg, with Ryan Lochte of the United States and Hagino neck-and-neck just behind.
With the Rio crowd’s excitement mounting, the three turned almost together after the backstroke, with Lochte just 0.01 seconds ahead.
Phelps led from Pereira and Lochte at the final turn and powered on as the other two faded, opening the way for Hagino and Wang to grab the two other medals. He clocked one minute, 54.66 for a comfortable winning margin of 1.95 seconds.
