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Rare loss for Michael Phelps; Katie Ledecky gets fourth gold, world mark

 
Published Aug. 13, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A stunner at the Olympics: Michael Phelps was beaten.

Not a stunner: Katie Ledecky smashed the world record in winning the 800-meter freestyle for her fourth gold medal of the Games.

Stunner: American Anthony Ervin, at 35, won the 50 freestyle — 16 years after he first won the event — to become the oldest swimming gold medalist in history.

And another stunner: American Maya DiRado pulled off a furious rally on the final lap to upset "Iron Lady" Katinka Hosszu of Hungary in the 200 backstroke.

There was drama to spare at the pool Friday night.

Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, couldn't pull off one of his patented comebacks in the 100-meter butterfly, easily held off by a swimmer a decade younger. Joseph Schooling, 21, of Singapore got off to a blistering start and built a lead that not even Phelps could overcome.

After winning four gold medals at these Games and looking unbeatable, Phelps ran out of steam in what was his final individual race of these Games — and maybe his career, if he sticks to his vow to retire for good.

Phelps still has a chance to leave Rio with 23 golds in his career. But he'll have to do with some help from his teammates, swimming the butterfly leg of the 400 medley relay on the final night of swimming today.

Phelps settled for silver in the 100 butterfly, tying for second with two longtime rivals, Chad le Clos of South Africa and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary. They all touched in 51.14 seconds, a half-body length behind Schooling's winning time of 50.39. It was the first three-way tie in Olympic swimming.

"A three-way tie is pretty wild," Phelps said. "Joe is tough. Hats off to him, he swam a great race. It's kind of special and a decent way to finish my last individual race."

"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Schooling said. "I don't know what to believe, like, whether I actually did it or I'm still preparing for my race."

Ledecky, 19, joined Debbie Meyer as the only women to sweep the three longer freestyle events at the same Olympics. Meyer took the 200, 400 and 800 at the 1968 Games, and Ledecky matched that performance with two world records as well. She also won gold in 800 free relay and silver in 400 free relay.

Ledecky was merely racing the clock as she powered away from the field to touch in 8 minutes, 4.79 seconds, eclipsing the mark 8:06.68 that she set in Texas in January.

"I just wanted to lay it all out there," Ledecky said. "I hit all my goals right on the nose this week. I'm just proud to be part of that history."

Great Britain's Jazz Karlin touched in 8:16.17 to claim the silver, just ahead of Hungary's Boglarka Kapas. Some 23 seconds after Ledecky touched the wall, the last of the eight finalists finally got to the end of the grueling race.

Ervin, the oldest U.S. man to swim an individual event in the Olympics since 1904, won the 100 in 21.40 seconds. French star sprinter Florent Manaudou, the heavy favorite, finished second by one-hundredth of a second. American Nathan Adrian touched the wall third.

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In 2000, Ervin tied fellow American Gary Hall Jr. for the gold, Then he walked away from swimming and embarked on a journey to find his purpose in life. He returned to make the American team in 2012 and failed to medal. Friday was his second gold of these Games, added to the one he won for swimming in the prelims of the 400 freestyle relay.

DiRado won her fourth medal of the Games, but first gold, by denying Hosszu her fourth gold in Rio. The bronze went to Canada's Hilary Caldwell.