Phelps, Biles rule supreme in Rio

MICHAEL Phelps blew away Ryan Lochte and gymnast Simone Biles won her second gold as the United States took control of the Rio Olympics medals table on Thursday.

As golf made its long-awaited return and Fiji partied after a famous rugby win, Phelps was magnificent once again in retaining his 200m individual medley title.

The race was a last showdown between Phelps and Lochte but Phelps showed no mercy and won by nearly two seconds from Japan's Kosuke Hagino, with Lochte back in fifth.

Afterwards, the 31-year-old waggled four fingers to signify the four gold medals so far in Rio which have taken him to an incredible 22 Olympic titles and 26 medals altogether.

"I say this a lot, but every single day I'm living a dream come true. As a kid I wanted to do something that no one had ever done before and I'm enjoying it," said Phelps.

"Being able to finish how I won is just something very special to me and this is why you are seeing more and more emotion on the medal podium."

Simone Manuel dead-heated with Penny Oleksiak to share victory in the women's 100m freestyle and become the first African-American woman to win in Teenager Biles, just days after inspiring the United States to victory in the gymnastics team event, conjured a sublime exhibition of acrobatics and tumbling to claim the allaround crown.

The 19-year-old is chasing five gold medals in Rio, and few would bet against the 1.45m (4ft 9in) Texan adding to her tally in the apparatus finals to come.

“I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, I'm the first Simone Biles," she said, declining to embrace comparisons with other Olympians. — AFP.