The Week That Was: Swimming Makes Rio One For The Record Books

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Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

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This week of Olympic swimming caught the attention of swimming and non-swimming fans alike as people around the world witnessed one of the most memorable Games of recent memory. As with any Olympics there were triumphs, upsets, near-misses, and disappointments. Read below to see the five biggest swimming stories from these Games and head over to our Event Landing Page to read our complete coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Week That Was #5 – Sarah Sjostrom Becomes First Swedish Woman To Grab Swimming Gold

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Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Since she broke the world record in the 100 butterfly as a 15 year old at the 2009 World Championships in Rome, it feels like all eyes have been on Sarah Sjostrom to win the big one. While she left the London Olympic Games without any medals, Sjostrom worked the past four years to climb back to the top, winning the 100 butterfly in world record time at last years World Championships and setting herself up as the favorite for these Olympic Games. This time she delivered in spades, winning on the second night of the meet in the 100 butterfly in 55.48, which broke her own world record. That made Sjostrom the first Swedish woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming and threw off the weight of the expectations that were placed on her shoulders seven years ago. The 22 year old added a silver medal in the 200 freestyle and a bronze in the 100 freestyle throughout the meet to cement her status as a major international player, and left swim fans wondering what the next seven years may bring for the Swedish star.

The Week That Was #4 – Ryan Murphy Continues U.S.A. Backstroke Dominance

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Backstroke has long been the domain of the American men, with the United States winning every 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke since 1996 coming into these Games. Using his country’s history of success in the event as motivation to propel him to gold, Ryan Murphy extended the U.S.’s streak in both events. Starting with the 100 backstroke, Murphy won the event in 51.97 to win America’s sixth straight gold medal in the event. That time broke the Olympic record set by Matt Grevers in 2012 and was just off of American Aaron Piersol’s 2009 world record. He continued a second American streak in the 200 backstroke, winning the event in 1:53.62 over Australia’s Mitch Larkin. And in his final swim of the Olympic Games, leading off the 400 medley relay for the United States, Murphy was able to break Aaron Piersol’s elusive world record in the 100 backstroke. The Cal senior led off with a 51.85, giving the U.S. a sizable lead that helped them toward a new Olympic Record of 3:27.95. At just 21 years of age and entering his senior year at Cal, Murphy will leave Rio with three Olympic golds, one world record, and as the future of the American backstroke legacy.

The Week That Was #3 – Katinka Hosszu Grabs Three Individual Titles

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Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Looking for redemption after failing to medal at the 2012 London Olympics, Hungarian Katinka Hosszu defied skeptics by taking home four Olympic medals during the Rio Olympic Games, three of which were gold. Hosszu started off the meet with a ridiculously dominant win in the 400 IM, touching in 4:26.36 to win the gold medal and best the rest of the field by almost five seconds. Her time also broke Ye Shiwen’s world and Olympic records that were set at the 2012 London Olympic Games. The Iron Lady went on to win the 100 backstroke (58.45) and 200 IM, the latter in an Olympic record time of 2:06.58 to hold off a fast closing Siobhan-Marie O’Connor. The Hungarian finished the meet with a silver medal to Maya DiRado in the 200 backstroke, finishing just .06 behind the American with her third consecutive 2:06 flat swim. While that last swim may leave a bitter taste in her mouth, it is safe to say that with three individual Olympic titles now to her name the 27 year old Hungarian got her redemption and then some.

The Week That Was #2 – Ledecky Continues Record Of Dominance In Rio

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We all know how Katie Ledecky has changed women’s swimming in the last four years, but her performance at the Rio Games served to cement her place in the history books. Continuing her streak of being unbeaten in individual international finals, Ledecky became just the second woman ever to sweep the 200, 400, and 800 meter freestyle events at an Olympic Games (the only other woman is American Debbie Meyer, who pulled off the feat at the 1968 Olympics). Leaving the Games with five medals, four of which are gold, Ledecky also set world records in the 400 freestyle (3:56.46) and 800 freestyle (8:04.79) in some of the more dominant performances in recent memory while also just missing the Olympic record in an incredibly close 200 freestyle final against Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom. That made her the third fastest female in history in the event, and made her the clear choice to anchor the U.S.A.’s 800 free relay to gold. And don’t forget her first medal of the Games, when Ledecky anchored the 400 freestyle relay with an incredible 52.79 (a 52.64 in prelims) to help the U.S. to a silver medal. Still only 19 years old with a whole NCAA career ahead of her, Ledecky is entering a new chapter of her life and swimming career. And if history tells us anything, it should be one for the books.

The Week That Was #1 – Michael Phelps Finishes Career With 28 Olympic Medals

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Once again, swimming fans across the world were treated to Michael Phelps further etching his name in Olympic history as he added six more medals (five of which are gold) to his overall Olympic medal tally. That brings his Olympic medal count to a staggering 28 (of which 23 are gold medals), which makes him the most decorated Olympian in history and cements his place as the greatest Olympian of all-time. While it is easy to go through each of Phelps’ races at these Games (the 200 butterfly redemption, his career-best 100 freestyle relay split, or his three-way tie for silver in the 100 butterfly all come to mind), the best way to measure the impact of Phelps’ is to hear from those in the pool with him.

“If it wasn’t for Michael, I don’t think I could have gotten to this point,” remarked Joseph Schooling after grabbing gold in the 100 butterfly over Phelps by nearly three-quarters of a second. “I wanted to be like him as a kid.” Murphy, who was a part of the 400 medley relay that won the GOAT his last gold medal, shared a similar sentiment: “He’s opened a lot of doors for all of us…No matter what country you swim for, you’re indebted to Michael Phelps.”

While we will always know how many medals he won and how fast his records were, the lasting impact that Michael Phelps has had on the sport of swimming extends beyond that. The young boy who set out to change the sport of swimming after the 2000 Sydney Olympics has grown into a man who has the respect of the entire swimming world. Like Mark Spitz before him, his medal record will now be the yardstick that Olympic accomplishments are measured against, challenging future swimmers to push themselves more than they may have, dream outside what they thought imaginable, until one day someone reaches for that 29th Olympic medal…

For complete coverage of all of the events at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, including those of Michael Phelps, head over to our Event Landing Page.

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