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Title: The legacy of Michael Phelps is as much in two pictures as it is 27 Olympic medals
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URL Source: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/t ... -olympic-medals-065811012.html
Published: Aug 13, 2016
Author: Jeff Passan
Post Date: 2016-08-13 13:47:44 by BTP Holdings
Keywords: None
Views: 245
Comments: 2
The legacy of Michael Phelps is as much in two pictures as it is 27 Olympic medals by Jeff Passan 10 hours ago . Why Michael Phelps was OK with a silver medal Medal count | Olympic schedule | Olympic news RIO DE JANEIRO – The other story of Michael Phelps can be told in two pictures. You know the main story. Phelps is the greatest Olympian ever. In the last individual race of his Olympic career Friday – no, really, seriously, he swears it’s the last one – Phelps won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly. It was his 27th Olympic medal, 22 of them gold, four of those golds here at the Rio Games that were supposed to be a swan song and ended up another coronation. That is the easy tale that will be told as long as the Olympics are around. That is what he did. The other story is the effect of what he did, how for a dozen years now Phelps has taken swimming and challenged it to be better. Long before he became the elder statesman he is now – 31 years old, with a child, about to be married, generous with advice, wise with his words – Phelps was something more. The first picture is of Phelps and Katie Ledecky. She won her fourth gold medal of these Olympics on Friday night, setting a world record in the 800-meter freestyle and treating the pool at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium like her personal splash zone. The silver medalist finished more than 11 seconds behind her. She is 19 years old. She has five Olympic gold medals and a silver. She is the future of swimming. The second picture is of Phelps and Joseph Schooling. It was taken in Singapore when Schooling was 8. He was a swimming prodigy who moved to the United States at 13 to train in Florida. He distinguished himself in the 100-meter butterfly and won two NCAA titles at Texas. In the last individual race of Michael Phelps’ Olympic career on Friday night, Schooling beat him. He is 21 years old. As much as Phelps’ legacy is the 22 golds and 27 medals, he leaves behind something even more dear to him: a generation of children who wanted to be like him more than anybody ever has wanted to be like any other swimmer. “We’ve all seen the photo of Katie and I when she was 9 or 10 and the photo of Joe and I,” Phelps said. “I wanted to change the sport of swimming. That’s what I wanted to do. With the people in the sport now, I think you’re seeing it.” Poster Comment: Flash video and tweets at source.
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#1. To: BTP Holdings (#0)
Phelps seems to be a really class act. Well done, Michael.
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#2. To: Lod (#1)
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