American Swimmer Micheal Phelps created history earlier today when he became the first person to have won 19 Olympic medals in his career.
Phelps who has been named by many as ‘the greatest Olympian of all time’ has now proved the statement true.
Phelps surpassed former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won 18 medals, nine of them gold, at Melbourne in 1956, Rome in 1960 and Tokyo in 1964. Phelps medal count now stands at 15 gold, two silver, two bronze.
The American came into the London 2012 games just two medals shy of Latynina’s record with 16 medals including 14 gold and two bronze.
Phelps gave his fans quite a scare early on when he failed to finish on the podium in the 400IM where his team mate and rival Ryan Lochte took gold. He bounced back in his second event the 4×100 freestyle relay when he put down the best split time in his leg to give his team a strong lead which resulted in the Americans taking the Silver after losing out to a strong French comeback.
In his third event the 200 fly which is his strongest event, Phelps was beaten by 0.5 seconds by South-African Chad le Clos who took gold. Phelps had won the 200 butterfly in Athens and Beijing and no man had ever won an individual event at three successive Games. Just two women have done it: Australia’s Dawn Fraser and Hungary’s Krisztina Egerszegi. Phelps, who says this will be his last Games, will have two other chances at Olympic trifectas, in the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley. The 200 IM, which will begin Wednesday, offers Phelps an opportunity to even the score with rival and friend Lochte, who won gold in the 400 IM on the first night of the meet.
Phelps had to be content with silver in the 200 fly which equalized the Olympic medal record that has stood for ever half a century. Later in the day Phelps had his chance to break the gymnast’s record in the 4×200 freestyle relay and did so in style bringing home his 15th gold medal.
Phelps dove in with more than a two second lead when he took over as the anchor in the relay. The Americans won with a time of 6:59.70, more than three seconds faster than runner-up France. Ryan Lochte swam the leadoff leg, followed by Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens.
Phelps speaking to the media after the race said he had asked his team mates for a big lead going into the last let. “You better give me a big lead,” Phelps said with a big grin, “and they gave it to me. So I just wanted to hold on. Phelps also thanked his teammates for helping him to have this moment.
“I started smiling with 20 metres to go, it’s the first time I think I’ve ever done that in a race,” Phelps continued after his he record-setting dash. “I’m kind of at a loss of words right now. Everything that’s happening, being able to do something that nobody has ever done before … that’s what I always wanted to do” concluded the most decorated athlete in the history of the world’s most revered sporting event.
