Swimming was clearly one of the best sports to watch during these Olympic Games. Talented athletes shattered several records, old timers returned and made great comebacks, new recruits earned their first medals, renowned gold medalists added more prizes to their wide collection, swimmers gained their country's first medals in the sport, and many unexpected twists and turns appeared during a few races. These 10 events featuring incredible performances from both male and female swimmers remind the world why Olympic swimming remains one of the most captivating and incredible sports.
Katinka Hosszu made viewers stand up on their feet with her simply astounding finish in this event. Hosszu stayed ahead of her competitors by an entire five seconds, easily snagging the gold in this event and setting a new world record of 4:26.36. Her strongest stroke is backstroke, which helped her secure the victory in this event. Watching her husband and coach's spirited reaction in the stands created even more hype for her first place finish. Hosszu's feat in this race caused viewers to watch her carefully for the remainder of the Rio Games, especially during her backstroke events.
Hosszu shined in the 400 IM and took the lead in the 200m backstroke's first two legs, but someone else stood on top of the podium after event. First-time Olympian Maya DiRado swam hard, grabbed her first gold medal in this event, and defeated Hosszu by a mere six hundredths of a second. DiRado desired her medal so badly that she even broke a nail when she touched the pool wall during her finish. The swimmer could not believe she won an event, especially after gaining a gold through the 800m freestyle relay, and cried tears of joy during her NBC interview intermediately following her race. DiRado's hard work certainly paid off as she fought to the finish.
Simone Manuel became the first Olympic female African-American swimmer to ever earn a gold medal. Judging by the shocked look on her face after she touched the wall, Manuel certainly did not expect to win this race. Like Maya DiRado after she swam the 200m backstroke, Manuel shed tears of happiness. The best part about this race was seeing Manuel's humble reaction to the competition results as she thanked God, shared about how thankful she was for the opportunity to compete at the Olympics, and expressed her joy following a gold medal victory.
Returning gold medalist Katie Ledecky already had this race in the bag from the very start. Ledecky won America's hearts in the 2012 London Olympics and did it again this year. She flew ahead of the other seven swimmers by a full 11 seconds in this event and finished in front of her competitors by about a full pool length. Ledecky defended her 2012 title, smashed her previous world record of 8:04.79 with a new time of 8:06.68, and earned one of her four gold medals at the Rio Games. She continually demonstrates the power of hard work and determination, arning only gold medals in each of her individual events and constantly improving her times.
5. Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay
New U.S. swimming recruits took their first gold medals through this relay that conveyed how teamwork really makes the dream work. Veteran Allison Schmitt started the relay off well while Leah Smith and Maya DiRado kept the U.S. in the top three spots. Ledecky then jumped in the pool as the anchor and sealed a victory for the U.S., finishing about two seconds in front of Australia's team. The U.S. women have successfully defended a gold medal title in this event — with the exception of the 2008 games — earning medal number five since the 1996 games.
The spirited Lilly King was on fire during the 100m backstroke. Drama about Yulia Efimova — a Russian swimmer who recently served a doping ban and tested positive for meldonium, according to CNN— surrounded this race and created some controversy between her and King. The U.S. swimmer hoped to prove that she could snag a first place finish through her own efforts, without any additional aids — and she did exactly that. King additionally set a new Olympic record of 1:04.93, earning one of her two gold medals at the Rio Games.
35-year-old Olympic Veteran sprinter Anthony Ervin took gold in this event by one hundredth of a second 16 years after he took gold back at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Ervin hung up his cap and goggles shortly after the Sydney Olympics due to personal struggles he faced, yet he loved swimming so much and could not stay away from the Games. As a result, he returned this year after training for the past four years. The 50m free remains an entertaining race as nations watch the world's best sprinters fly across the pool like fiery bullets. Ervin cheered excitedly following his victory and seemed overjoyed to win this event while competing against a younger crop of swimmers. U.S. veteran sprinter Nathan Adrian also grabbed the bronze in these finals.
The legendary Michael Phelps won his 23rd gold and 28th career medal through his last Olympic relay that ended in a gold medal finish for the U.S. Ryan Murphy earned a world record for a split of 52.19 in the event's first leg. Cody Miller followed his solid lead by swimming a strong breaststroke leg against Adam Peaty from Great Britain, then Phelps added an extra edge during his fly in the third leg, and sprinter Nathan Adrian anchored this relay, sealing the prize for Team USA. This race allowed these four swimmers to close the 2016 Olympic games with a satisfying gold medal win.
Phelps lost this event by a short five hundredths of a second to Chad le Clos from South Africa back at the 2012 London Olympics and was simply crushed. He remembered that difficult loss and gave it his all this year, earning yet another gold medal at the Rio Olympics in a narrow victory over rival le Clos. Phelps did not break either of his own Olympic and World records, but he still returned home with a satisfying first place finish in one of his strongest events.
America thought Phelps would return home with only gold medals this year. However, the Olympic veteran earned a silver medal in style — through a three way tie alongside Chad le Clos from South Africa and László Cseh from Hungary. Joseph Schooling from Singapore took the gold and set a new Olympic record of 50.39. This event caused quite an uproar; the world thought they already saw it all this Olympic Games after they watched all the record-breaking finishes and unexpected medalists. Nonetheless, the men's 100m butterfly conveys how many talented swimmers jumped in the pool at the Rio Games this year.
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