Editorial Coverage Sponsored By FINIS
By Cristian Corbett, Swimming World College Intern
This year’s Olympics was one for the books. It was the last Olympic Games for many veterans, and the first for many newcomers. Every single event was an exciting one. As the Games come to a close, here are the eight best moments that happened at Rio’s Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
8. Ryan Held During the National Anthem
Photo Courtesy: Getty Images
After a historic win in the 4x100m freestyle relay, first-time Olympian Ryan Held made headlines when he broke into tears during the medal ceremony. Joined by Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps, and Caeleb Dressel, the 21-year old North Carolina State swimmer’s tears on stage turned him into an overnight celebrity. He was a trending topic on Twitter and has been labeled Team USA’s “most adorable swimmer.”
7. Ryan Murphy’s 100m and 200m Backstroke Sweep
Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Continuing the USA’s backstroke legacy, Ryan Murphy won both the 100m and 200m backstrokes, which the US hasn’t lost since the 1992 Olympic Games. He also joined an exclusive club, becoming the fifth man to win both backstroke events, which includes John Naber, Rick Carey, Lenny Krayzelburg and Aaron Peirsol. Oh, and to cap off his perfect meet, Murphy broke Peirsol’s long-standing world record with his 400 medley relay split!
6. Maya DiRado’s Photo Finish in the 200m Backstroke
Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu was the favorite going into this event. Hosszu had taken first in both the heats and semifinals of the race. Hosszu seemed to have the race in the bag, until USA’s Maya DiRado came from behind to take the gold by .06 seconds. DiRado will pursue her career and retire after the Games to become a business analyst.
5. The Three-way Tie for Silver
Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Everything about this race had people scratching their heads. Phelps was almost unanimously considered the favorite going into the event, but Singapore’s Joseph Schooling was out like a rocket and finished with gold. If that wasn’t enough shock for people, Phelps managed to tie for the silver with not one, but two other people. Veteran butterfliers Chad le Clos and László Cseh shared the silver medal position on the podium with Phelps, while Schooling stood high, winning the gold medal, and breaking Phelps’ Olympic record.
4. Lilly King’s 100m Breaststroke
Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
There was a lot of drama surrounding Lilly King and Yulia Efimova, who went head to head in the women’s 100m breaststroke. King stated that Efimova shouldn’t have competed in the Olympics due to her being banned twice for doping, causing some controversy. Efimova was favored to win the event, but King came through with the upset, taking gold over Efimova.
3. Anthony Ervin’s 50m Free Triumph
Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Surpassing Michael Phelps as the oldest male swimmer to win gold, the 35-year old swimmer surprised pretty much everyone in this race, beating out defending Olympic champion Florent Manaudou and teammate Nathan Adrian. He had previously won gold in the event waaaay back in 2000, tying with Gary Hall Jr. He retired in 2003, but came back in just in time for the London Olympic Games.
2. Katie Ledecky’s Superhuman 800m Free
Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
There are almost no words for how jaw-droppingly fast Katie Ledecky has been at these Games. In the 800m free, she made the event look easy, breaking her own world record by almost two seconds, and winning the gold by more than 11 seconds.
1. Michael Phelps’ 23rd Olympic Gold Medal
Photo Courtesy: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
There couldn’t have been a better way to end the Olympics for the greatest swimmer of all time. Michael Phelps’ final race resulted in another gold medal to top off a beautiful career. He teamed up with Ryan Murphy, Cody Miller and Nathan Adrian to defend the race that the USA has never lost at the Olympics, the 4×100 medley relay.
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- WOMEN'S 10K OPEN WATER RESULTS
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- FULL OLYMPIC SWIMMING RESULTS
You call yourself Swimming WORLD, but don’t mention any top performances other than USA top performances. Adam Peaty’s individual Gold and his relay split should be included if you are really including the World. Probably not a better male performance. There were other great performances in Rio by some internationals that also deem attention.
Please title your article correctly and don’t pretend to cover the WORLD if you are only going to include Americans.
It says the 8 best team USA moments. How bout you read the article??