Moses splashdown
OLYMPICS AMERICAN water polo legend Merrill Moses announced his retirement from the USA team after they failed to get out of the group stages in Rio.
Moses, the 39-year-old, 6ft 3in goalie, posted a tweet before the USA’s match against Italy, which they won 10-7, that it was to be his last match.
He said: “Honoured to play my last game with these gentlemen.”
It ends an era as Moses has been Team USA’s goalie for the last three Olympics — including 2008, when the Americans made it to the gold medal match, and ultimately fell to Hungary.
The last two Olympics have not been as fortuitous for the American side. “At that moment in 2008 we really didn’t realise what we had done because all we thought was we lost the gold medal,” said Moses.
“Now looking back, after two Olympics without competing for gold, l realise just how special that was.”
Meanwhile, USA sabre fencer Eli Dershwitz failed to make it past the first round after losing 15-12 to Belgian Seppe Van Hosbek.
But America’s swimming superstar Katie Ledecky, whose career has been inspired by the experiences of her Jewish grandmother Becky, 84, walked away from Rio with five medals, four of them gold, along with two world records.
She completed the individual clean sweep by adding the 800 metres gold to her 200m and 400m victories.