King of pool continues to make a splash
VINTAGE STUFF US swimmer adds two more gold medals to his cabinet, dispels doubts over ability to churn out results
RIO DE JANEIRO: In an unforgettable display of Olympic power, Michael Phelps won two more finals to take his historic alltime record load to 21 golds and cement his legendary status.
Phelps beat Japan’s Masato Sakai by just four hundredths of a second to take the 200m butterfly and later anchored the US 4x200m freestyle relay team to victory.
At 31 — the oldest individual Olympic swimming gold medalist ever — Phelps is still the master of the pool.
After claiming his 20th title in five Olympics — beating old rival Chad le Clos in the process — Phelps stood in the water striking a pose like a Roman emperor, soaking up the acclaim.
Entering the arena like a gladiator, his face a granite mask of concentration, Phelps dominated a grudge final Le Clos had billed as “Ali versus Frazier” to become the oldest individual swimming gold medallist in Olympic history at 31.
South African Le Clos, who won by a fingertip four years ago in London to rob the American of a hat-trick of titles, faded badly down the home stretch to miss out on a medal.
The world record holder and most decorated athlete in Olympic history, Phelps clocked 1min 53.36sec to add to his staggering title tally as Japan’s Masato Sakai finished strongly for a surprise silver in 1:53.40. Hungary’s Tamas Kenderesi took bronze in 1:53.62.
Competing in his fifth and final Olympics, victory was twice as sweet for Phelps after clashing with le Clos in the media since losing to the South African in their epic London tussle.
“I don’t want him to win and I’m sure he doesn’t want me to win,” said Phelps. “He is a very good racer and he puts it on the line. I knew where he was all the time. The last 10 metres were not fun, oh my gosh.”
The 200m butterfly was his first world record in 2001.
“That event is kind of like my bread and butter,” Phelps said.
“There wasn’t a shot in hell I was losing that race,” he added. “And if I did, I was leaving everything in the pool.”