This summer has been a time of victory and dreams come true, for many Olympic athletes who have been training within their sport to come to the Olympics for months and even years. Some of the first competitions that have come and gone are the swimming events. The Olympic pool in Rio has at this point, seen many passionate triumphs and painful losses from swimmers from all across the world.
As always with the Olympics, history has been made by multiple athletes, in all different sporting events, from archery, to volleyball, to basketball, to swimming. Chances are, if you've watched any of the Olympics, you've seen history being made at least one time, if not more. Perhaps the best of all, this Olympics has reminded many of us that when it all comes down to it, the world, no matter what challenges nations and the planet face, we all enjoy watching people from around the world show off their athletic skills. Here are some of swimming's biggest moments from the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
1. Michael Phelps winning his 20th Olympic gold medal in the 200 meter fly
At 31 years old, Michael Phelps was amongst some of the oldest Olympic athletes in Rio this year. Of course, he's also the most decorated athlete in history. When he touched the wall, securing a gold medal first place win in the 200 meter butterfly last week, he set a new record for himself, winning his 20th gold medal (though he now has 23 gold medals to his name). On top of that, he also set a new Olympic record, by winning the race against Japan by four hundreths of a second. For his fans, his victorious reaction to his win was entirely unforgettable and perfectly awesome. Commenting on his performance, he said,
2. Katie Ladecky scoring her 4th gold at the Rio games
After her first gold medal on August 7, Ladeki kept up with her record of winning and record-breaking. She went on to win 3 more gold medals in other swimming events. Also, she is only the sixth American woman to win individual swimming golds at two different Olympics — joining Martha Norelius (1924 and 1928), Janet Evans (1988, 1992), Brooke Bennett (1996, 2000), Natalie Coughlin (2004, 2008) and Rebecca Soni (2008, 2012).
3. Ryan Lochte coming in fifth in in his final individual medley race in Rio last week
Sadly, though he is the second most decorated Olmypic swimmer of all time next to Michael Phelps, his close friend and teammate, Lochte did not medal at all in his only individual event in Rio, the 200 meter individual medley, last week. In an NBC interview after the race, he seemed frustrated. His final comment to NBC about the future of his career let his fans know that he's going to need time to rest. However, he left the Rio pool area smiling, saying, "who knows, I might be back".
4. Manual becoming the first African American woman to win a gold in swimming
Last week, Simone Manuel, a member of the United States olympic swim team, won her first gold medal at her first Olympics. It just so happens that her first gold was the African American female community's first-ever gold medal in a swimming event. It was obvious that Manuel was overcome with emotion, as she reached for her fellow swimmer, representing Canada, to embrace her. Back stage, we saw her embrace her coach and sob for about an entire minute.
