Michael Phelps has been denied his fifth gold medal at Rio Olympics by 21-year-old Singapore youngster Joseph Schooling in the 100 metre butterfly final. Schooling had already made history by becoming the first Singaporean male swimmer to make an Olympic final on Thursday, now he has gone one step beyond by winning his country’s first gold medal. To make matters more historic, the silver medal was claimed by greatest of all time Michael Phelps.
Provided Phelps does not compete at Tokyo 2020 at the age of 35, this is the last individual gold medal that could have had Phelps’ name.
Schooling claimed first place with a time of 50.39, a new Olympics record. He was one full second ahead of his nearest competitors, as all of Michael Phelps, Chad le Clos and Laszlo Cseh finished tied at 51.14 seconds. All three of them will be sharing the silver medal. This is first three-way dead heat for a silver medal in Olympics history.
This was also the biggest margin of victory in men's 100 fly since Mark Spitz’s historic swim in 1972.
Phelps has won four gold medals at Rio 2016 – the 200 metre butterfly, the 200 metre individual medley and the 100 metre and 200 metre freestyle. He has one last event remaining at these Games, the 200 metre medley relay race on Saturday night, as he now aims to win his fifth gold at Brazil and his 23rd overall.
Phelps has shared a storied rivalry with bronze medallist Chad le Clos in recent years. Le Clos had announced before Rio 2016 that he would be breaking Phelps’ butterfly records. The South African had shocked in 2012 by pipping Phelps to the Olympics gold in the 200 m butterfly, but has had no similar joy this time. Cseh was another pre-race favourite.
Schooling, who considers Phelps his idol, was impressive in the heats as well as in the semi-finals, but nobody had been prepared by the ease with which he pulled ahead of the rest of the pool, including the greatest names in swimming of the present generation. Phelps had met him when he was a small boy on the sidelines of Beijing 2008, and Phelps’ family is thought to have recommended Schooling's eventual swimming school.
Phelps had already become the first swimmer to win four gold medals at the same individual event in consecutive Olympics with his 200 IM victory yesterday, but has failed to repeat the feat in the 100 metre
