Phelps at it again
The tension was palpable, yet the resolution supreme. Here was a man bent on righting the wrongs of his post-2012 past; here was a man looking to give the term 'greatest' an altogether new meaning. Michael Phelps had seen it all; he had won it all. Yet one last leap of faith had him come out of retirement and back into the US Olympic swimming team for Rio 2016. He was destined for one last dive into glory.
There was a lot of speculation regarding whether the Baltimore Bullet would be part of the relay team for the 4X100m freestyle final on Sunday night. His conspicuous absence from the heat only added substance to those speculations. Then when his name appeared on the starting list of the final, it was a welcome surprise for the spectators and journalists alike. That surprise gave in to hearty welcome as the most decorated Olympian of all time emerged out of the change room and made his way towards the swimming pool of the Olympic Aquatic Stadium.
The rest is, as the saying goes, history. Phelps started the Rio Games right from where he had left off at the London Olympic Games four years ago. The Baltimore Bullet had won his 18th Olympic gold medal in the 4X100m medley, which was the final swimming event of London 2012 before he announced his retirement, only to come out of it two years later.
On Sunday night in his first event of Rio 2016, he led his young teammates -- Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held and Nathan Adrian -- to a gold which was the 19th Olympic gold and 23rd Olympic medal overall in his fifth Games appearance. He led a storming 47.125 seconds in the second leg before waiting with bated breath for Nathan Adrian to touch the finish line.
"It was crazy. I was standing on the blocks while Caeleb was coming in and I honestly thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest," the 31-year-old swimmer told reporters afterwards about his anxious wait before the leap.
As soon as Nathan touched the board, tears of joy rolled down as the Americans staved off a stiff challenge from 2012 champions France. "Oh my God, they were making us cry," Phelps said. "The younger guys started crying, I started crying. I told them it is okay to sing, it is okay to cry. It is good to see emotion as one of the old dudes. "
Phelps's event wrapped up the day at the Olympic Aquatic Centre, which saw three new world records set in four events. British teenager Adam Peaty broke his own world record for the second time in two days to take the 100m breaststroke gold. The 19-year-old world champion sliced off 0.42 seconds from his heat timing in a master class effort as he became the first British male swimmer in 28 years to win an Olympic title. Later Katie Ledecky of the United States, looking to become the first woman since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to win the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle events in the same Games, broke her own record on way to winning the 400m freestyle gold (3min 56.46sec).