On This Date: Michael Phelps Wins Final Gold Medal in Olympic Farewell
Nine years ago on this date, Aug. 13, 2016, Michael Phelps won the final medal of his Olympic career. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Phelps handled the butterfly leg on the United States’ 400-meter medley relay, which captured gold in 3:27.95. That time, good for an Olympic record, was more than a second faster than what Great Britain (3:29.24) recorded for the silver medal. Phelps was joined the relay by Ryan Murphy, Cody Miller and Nathan Adrian.
Murphy led off on the backstroke leg with a world-record swim of 51.85 and was followed by Miller, who produced a split of 59.03 for the breaststroke leg. At that point, Britain held a slight lead of .61, thanks to an incredible breaststroke split of 56.59 from Adam Peaty. But Phelps went 50.33 for his leg, a second quicker than James Guy’s 51.35, and Nathan Adrian brought the Americans home with a freestyle anchor of 46.74.
The medal was the 28th of Phelps’ career, and the 23rd of the golden variety. It was also his fourth Olympic title in the 400 medley relay. Phelps won six medals at his final Games, golds coming in the 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley, 400 freestyle relay, 800 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay. He also claimed silver in the 100 fly, tying with Chad le Clos and Laszlo Cseh behind champion Joseph Schooling of Singapore.
“It turned out pretty cool,” Phelps said of his Olympic career. “It’s just a perfect way to finish.
“I’m ready for something different. My swimming career might be over, but I have the future ahead of me, and I can just turn the page and start whatever I want. It’s the beginning of a new journey. I’m really looking forward to that.”
