Michael Phelps reclaims Olympic title and celebrates with heartwarming act
MICHAEL Phelps cemented his legacy as the greatest Olympian of all-time then celebrated with a heartwarming act that melted the pool deck.
Swimming
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FOR a man who never let the word impossible halt his unworldly dreams, Michael Phelps can hardly believe he now owns 21 Olympic gold medals.
The greatest Olympian of all-time cemented his legacy on day four as the ice man of world sport, exacting revenge in his “bread and butter” 200m butterfly event before overcoming a torn cap to anchor the USA 4x200m freestyle relay team to his 21st Olympic victory.
Phelps revealed the first thing he told coach Bob Bowman when he decided to make a comeback to swimming three years ago was that he wanted his 200m butterfly Olympic title back.
In the hours before day four’s historic golden double, Phelps reflected with Bowman on their incredible journey through medals, world records, retirement and rehab and how they’d swept all before them.
“That’s a lot of medals, we got a lot of medals. It’s just insane. It’s mind blowing I must admit,” Phelps said.
“To think about when this all started and the things we were able to do together in this sport is just special.
“I told Bob when I came back how bad I wanted that 200 fly, I came into the pool tonight with a mission and the mission was accomplished.”
His emotion was there for all to see when he achieved that goal, breaking down in tears on the podium before racing into the stands to hug and kiss his three-month-old son Boomer and fiancee Nicole Johnson.
But it was just 20 minutes later, waiting for his leg of the relay, that Phelps’ composure shone through when he asked to borrow Connor Dwyer’s cap after his split behind the blocks.
Phelps realised it conflicted with his own personal sponsors so he took those few extra seconds under pressure to turn it inside out so his 21st gold medal memory wasn’t ruined by wearing the wrong branding.
It’s been a long journey for Phelps from 15-year-old rookie at the Sydney 2000 Olympics to swimming’s oldest Olympic champion at Rio in 2016.
The 200m butterfly is the only event he has raced at every Games and he departs with three gold medals. No wonder this event means so much to him and why it finally brought a tear to his eye realising it was the last four-lapper he’d ever race.
“I was really just going through the last 16 years,” Phelps said of his podium display of emotion.
“That event was kind of like my bread and butter that was the last time I will ever swim it.
“Having it come to an end is weird and crazy to think about.
“It’s been a crazy last couple of days. I know that was probably one of my most challenging doubles I’ve done.
“That being my very first Olympic event to be able to win it in my fifth Olympics is pretty special.”
But Phelps is not yet finished. He still has the 100m butterfly and 200m medley to go, plus potentially the 4x100m medley relay.
Seven more swims that could yet see him finish his career with 24 gold medals.
That’s more than many nations have won in the history of the Olympic Games. It’s certainly more than Phelps ever believed was possible.
Originally published as Michael Phelps reclaims Olympic title and celebrates with heartwarming act
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