What was supposed to be the final showdown between longtime rivals Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte (both of the USA) in the 200-meter individual medley turned turned out to be another powerful display of Phelps’ dominance at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on Thursday.
Phelps reached the wall almost two seconds ahead of Japan’s Kosuke Hagino, who finished second, to win his fourth gold medal at these Games and his 26 Olympic medals, 22 of them gold.
Lochte, world record holder in the event, faded during the final leg to finish fifth.
Phelps finished in 1 minute 54.66 seconds to win the event at his fourth consecutive Olympics.
He says that he will retire after the Rio Games.
“I say this a lot, but every single day I’m living a dream come true,” Phelps said. “As a kid, I wanted to do something that no one had ever done before, and I’m enjoying it. 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.”
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