Rival Lochte wants retiring Phelps to continue till 2020 Olympics

Phelps, who now has 27 Olympic medals, had been hoping to win the event for the fourth successive Games but his Midas touch deserted him and he had to settle for another color medal for the first time in Rio.

Singapore exploded in celebration on Saturday (Aug 13) after homegrown swimming hero Joseph Schooling beat USA legend Michael Phelps in the 100m butterfly in Rio to win the nation’s first-ever Olympic gold.

It was a remarkable win for Schooling, but what’s even more remarkable is this photo of the pair from 2008 when Schooling was just a 13-year-old Phelps fan.

Schooling met Phelps when the US Olympics swim team was visiting Singapore in 2008, and the American helped inspire the young Singaporean to move to the United States for extensive training.

Friday night’s performance in Rio fully validated Schooling – and he joined a group of Longhorns men’s swimmers who played a role in the US team’s gold-medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

“This is Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal ever, and also our first medal for ‪#‎Rio2016‬. And yeah. I’m ready to spend some time with [baby son] Boomer and [fiancée] Nicole”.

Phelps said he wanted to change the sport of swimming, teach kids to believe in themselves and not be scared to know that the sky is the limit. But that world championship medal came against a field that didn’t include Phelps, who had been suspended from completion by USA Swimming following a drunken-driving arrest. No more. I swore in London I wasn’t coming back and this is final.

But Phelps said he does not intend to compete in another Olympics once the Rio Games get over.

He swam side-by-side with his idol Phelps, who came in equal second with a time of 51.14s. “Can’t complain too much”, Phelps said. “It was just a very happy moment and it’s been incredible to share that journey with him”. “I’ve received a lot of support and that’s phenomenal”, Schooling told reporters.

Schooling reached two rare feats – he was one of the few to actually beat Phelps, and he secured the first Olympic gold medal win for his country. “No more. I said it a bunch before. It took us to the Olympic Stadium, which happens to be 40 minutes in the opposite direction to the pool”, – Fran Halsall of Great Britain explains the unusual circumstances that resulted in the women’s 50m freestyle semi-finals being delayed.

But the Frenchman was second this time, by 0.01 as Ervin won in 21.40. Along with her individual golds, Ledecky also topped the podium with the 4×200 relay. Then, Ervin walked away from swimming, skipping the next two Olympics while he embarked on a journey to find his objective in life.

The country has won 5 Olympics medals in total. “(With) 24 years in the sport, I’m happy with how things finished.