By Julian Linden
LONDON Aug 3 (Reuters) – Michael Phelps showed no signs of
complacency on the eve of his retirement and provided an
unforgettable reminder of his talent and unquenchable
determination to win by snatching the 100 metres butterfly gold
at the London Olympics on Friday.
The American, whose list of achievements in the Olympic pool
are already beyond comparison, came from seventh place at the
turn to overpower his rivals and win his 17th gold medal.
His victory capped an extraordinary night of swimming at
London’s Aquatic Centre where Missy Franklin broke the world
record in the 200 backstroke and her 15-year-old team mate Katie
Ledecky pulled off a stunning upset in the 800 freestyle.
Only Frenchman Florent Manaudou, the younger brother of
Laure Manaudou, prevented an American sweep of the four golds on
offer when he won the 50 freestyle sprint to join his famous
sister as an Olympic champion.
Phelps and Franklin became the first triple gold medallists
of the London Games and the pair look certain to win one more
each in Saturday’s medley relays when the eight-day swimming
competition ends.
Phelps won the 100 butterfly gold at the last two Olympics
but his chances of making it three in a row looked slim when he
turned for home and all but one of his opponents were ahead of
him.
But once he started to roll over his giant shoulders and
kick his powerful feet as fast and hard as he could, he quickly
caught up and powered past them all to win in a time of 51.21
seconds.
South Africa’s Chad le Clos, who beat Phelps in the 200
butterfly final, dead-heated for second with Russia’s Evgeny
Korotyshkin but neither man could hold off Phelps, who now has a
total of 21 Olympic medals.
Continued…
