Rio de Janeiro: Michael Phelps won his 21st gold medal anchoring the 4×200 freestyle relay. Phelps is celebrating a double triumph after winning his 20th and 21st Olympic gold medals on Tuesday night. Phelps now has 25 medals in all, and three more races in Rio to add to his almost unimaginable total.
Phelps made up for one of the rare losses in his brilliant career by winning the 200-meter butterfly, a triumph that sent him climbing into the stands to kiss his 3-month-old son Boomer. An hour later, he returned to take what amounted to nothing more than a triumphant victory lap in anchoring the 4×200 freestyle relay, the crowd’s deafening roar growing louder with every stroke.
The victory clearly delighted Phelps, who held up one finger, then sat on a lane rope and egged on the roaring crowd at the Olympic Aquatic Stadium. Phelps had this one marked on his calendar ever since he came out of retirement. Four years ago, Phelps misjudged his finish – gliding a little too long after his final stroke – and was edged at the wall by South African Chad le Clos.
Swimmers Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas and Ryan Lochte went out ahead of Phelps, handing off a commanding lead to the most decorated athlete in Olympic history.
