Swimming in gold
Sugar Land’s Simone Manuel picks up a gold and silver while Michael Phelps caps his Rio Games with gold — his 23rd.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Michael Phelps closed out the Rio Olympics in the only way imaginable. Golden. Phelps put the United States ahead to stay on the butterfly leg of the 400-meter medley relay and Nathan Adrian finished it off, giving the most decorated athlete in Olympic history his 23rd career gold medal Saturday night.
If that was the end, and Phelps insists it is, what a way to go.
He has 28 medals, having won five golds and a silver in Rio.
“This is how I wanted to finish my career,” Phelps said. “Getting off the bus walking into the pool tonight, I pretty much felt myself starting to cry. Last time putting on a suit, last time walking out in front of thousands of people representing my country.”
As Adrian touched the wall to finish off the victory, Phelps gathered the other relay swimmers, Ryan Murphy and Cody Miller, in his arms. One night after his only setback in Rio, an upset loss to UT’s Joseph Schooling in the 100 fly, Phelps was back on top.
Most of the U.S. swim team was in the stands to watch Phelps’ finale, including the biggest female star of the Games, Katie Ledecky. Retiring … again
Ledecky, 19, joked that she was proud to be part of Phelps’ final Olympics — twice. He initially retired after the 2012 London Olympics, only to decide about a year later to return to the pool.
At 31, Phelps sounds adamant when he says his swimming career is over.
“These Games really showed his growth,” teammate Anthony Ervin said. “That human spirit, that capacity to heal. I think it showed in his swimming, it showed in his demeanor, and it certainly showed in his leadership on the team.”
Standing atop the medal podium for the 23rd time, listening to the “The Star-Spangled Banner” as he has done so many times, Phelps teared up and nodded.
Then he and his teammates grabbed a sign that said, “Thank You Rio.”
Two-time gold medalist Murphy put the Americans out front with a world-record split on the backstroke — it counts because he was leading off — but Britain surged ahead on the breaststroke with its own world-record holder, Adam Peaty.
Phelps dove into the pool in second place. He wouldn’t be there for long. On the return lap, Phelps powered through the water with his whirling butterfly strokes, surging ahead of James Guy to pass off a lead to the anchor Adrian.
It wasn’t in doubt after that. Adrian pulled away on the freestyle to win in an Olympic-record time of 3 minutes, 27.95 seconds. Britain held on for silver, with Australia nabbing bronze. U.S. medal bonanza
Connor Jaeger gave the U.S. another silver in the 1,500 free, leaving the Americans with 33 swimming medals in Rio — matching the highest total since the boycotted Los Angeles Games in 1984.
The U.S. also won 33 medals at Sydney in 2000.
The final two individual golds of the Games went to Pernille Blume of Denmark in the 50 freestyle, her country’s first swimming victory since 1948, and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri in the grueling 1,500 free.
The night, though, belonged to Phelps, who walked out of the arena for the final time carrying an American flag handed to him by his mother from her front-row seat.
With a gold medal around his neck.
The only way imaginable.