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Somebody (his name's Joseph Schooling) finally beats Michael Phelps

RIO DE JANEIRO – What the vault is to the US gymnast Simone Biles, the 100m butterfly is to the five-time Olympian Michael Phelps. The shortest individual race in Phelps' Olympic programme has always been his toughest. His three consecutive victories, starting at the 2004 Games in Athens, came by a total margin of 28 hundredths of a second.

Michael Phelps congratulating Joseph Schooling after the race. Photo: Reuters

Michael Phelps congratulating Joseph Schooling after the race. Photo: Reuters

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RIO DE JANEIRO –  What the vault is to the US gymnast Simone Biles, the 100m butterfly is to the five-time Olympian Michael Phelps. The shortest individual race in Phelps' Olympic programme has always been his toughest. His three consecutive victories, starting at the 2004 Games in Athens, came by a total margin of 28 hundredths of a second.

In his previous three finals, Phelps had never been better than fifth after the first 50.

On Saturday morning (Aug 13, Singapore time), he turned in sixth place. He chased down every swimmer but one, but wound up in a three-way tie for second behind Joseph Schooling of Singapore. It was Phelps's 27th overall medal, and his tally now reads 22 gold, three silver and two bronze. Tied for second were Laszlo Cseh of Hungary and Chad Le Clos of South Africa. The final time was 50.39.

Schooling, a student at the University of Texas, claimed the first-ever gold medal for Singapore in any sport.

The degree of difficulty for Phelps, 31, as he tried to win a fourth consecutive Olympic title was compounded by the cumulative fatigue from his gold-medal turns this week in two relays, the 200 butterfly and the 200 individual medley. His legs felt leaden but his heart was light. After two years of hard labour in the pool and harder self-reflective work out of it, Phelps said, "I'm enjoying the sport like I did when I was an 18-year-old."

He brought to the two-lap race, his 62nd swim in Olympic competition and his last in an individual event, an appetite for the fight and an acceptance of whatever outcome was in the stars. Phelps took comfort in knowing he had put in the work and prepared well, in contrast to his haphazard, halfhearted approach to the 2012 London Games, where he relied on guile and guts to win six medals, including four golds.

"I've been able to stand on the block and say I've done everything I could to prepare myself, and that's all that matters" Phelps said.

After his 200 IM final/100 butterfly semifinal Thursday, Phelps said: "I kind of knew when I first started coming back that it wasn't going to be an easy process. I was going to have to force myself to go through pain that maybe I really didn't want to do. I was at a point in my life where I was ready to do that, and willing to do that."

Phelps stepped on the blocks knowing that, win or lose, he had achieved more than would have seemed possible as a lantern-jawed 15-year-old finishing fifth in his first Olympic final in 2000.

"I think the biggest thing for me is I've kind of been able to finish the way I wanted to. I've been able to come back and I've been able to accomplish things that I just dreamt of."

The appreciative crowd at Olympic Aquatics Stadium, who greeted him with sustained applause, included Phelps' fiancee, Nicole Johnson, and the couple's 3-month-old, Boomer, who somehow was able to sleep despite the din. One day he'll be able to look at photographs of his first Olympics. NEW YORK TIMES

 

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