United States wins men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, Phelps takes 21st gold

The first hack was in his biography section and said Le Clos had “died by the hands of Michael Phelps, being literally blown out of the water by the greatest American since Abraham Lincoln”.

Phelps held off Japan’s Masato Sakai with a time of 1 minute, 53.36 seconds, but that number was of little concern. Then, during the customary stroll around the pool to pose for photographers, Phelps broke ranks and bounded into the stands to plant a kiss on Boomer, the son who symbolizes just how much Phelps’ life has changed since a second drunken-driving arrest two years ago.

He raced it as his only event in 2000, finishing fifth in Sydney, and won back-to-back Olympic crowns in 2004 and 2008, before taking silver behind Chad le Clos of South Africa at the 2012 London Olympics.

USA’s Michael Phelps (bottom) celebrates with his teammates after Tean USA won the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 9, 2016.

Michael Phelps extended his record by earning his 21st Olympic gold medal Tuesday night.

Defending champion Le Clos, whose run-up to the Games was overshadowed by the devastating news that both of his parents had been diagnosed with cancer, finished an agonising fourth.

Cseh began to fade, with Le Clos moving into second at the 150m mark, but the South African could not match Phelps in the final lap, with the American punching the air in delight after stepping out. It marked the smallest margin of victory in this race in Olympic history.

Le Clos, who won a 200m freestyle silver on Monday, reacted fastest than Phelps at the start but it was Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh who led at the turn with Phelps second and Le Clos third. He is still scheduled to swim the 200 individual medley and the 100 fly later this week, as well as participating in the medley relay.