Michael Phelps lauds Hungarian Milak after breaking swimming record

MANILA, Philippines — Swimming legend Michael Phelps congratulated Hungarian swimmer Kristof Milak after the latter broke a world record Phelps held for 18 years.

Taking to Instagram,Phelps praised the 19-year-old Milak.

"My hat's off to him," Phelps wrote.

Milak clocked in 1:50.73 in the 200m Butterfly during the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea on Wednesday.

He was 0.78 faster than Phelps' 2009 record.

Phelps first held the 200m Butterfly record in 2001. He retired in 2016 after a long and decorated swimming career.

source: philstar.com

Michael Phelps Competes in the 5xBanana Hammock Relay

Michael Phelps really meant it when he decided to go on a guys only vacation to the Maldives ... and TMZ has the bro-tastic pics to prove it.

As TMZ first reported, Phelps opted to skip traveling with his super hot new girlfriend, Megan Rossee, and instead traveled to the notoriously expensive island destination with his best boys.

Our source described the trip as "a relaxing bro getaway" that featured a lot of lounging, boating and (of course) drinking.

And he still has this to come home to. Good life.

source: tmz.com

Michael Phelps Yeah, I Went Clubbing with My GOLD MEDALS!!

Michael Phelps took three of his closest friends out clubbing in London this weekend -- gold medal, gold medal and gold medal.

Just hours after swimming the last race of his career, Phelps -- the greatest Olympian in the history of the Olympics -- hit the party scene in Soho ... along with 3 of his 18 gold medals ... and a mystery blonde.

Phelps and his medals partied responsibly ... after they partied themselves out, they all piled into the backseat of a waiting SUV and got a ride home.

Go USA.

source: tmz.com

Phelps extends record breaking spree with first individual gold in London

(CNN) -- The records kept tumbling for Michael Phelps Thursday as he beat arch-rival Ryan Lochte to win the men's 200m individual medley.

It was the 16th gold medal of his remarkable Olympic career, but his first in an individual event at the London Games.

The 27-year-old from Baltimore becomes the first man to win gold in the same event at three consecutive Olympics and extends his record breaking overall medals tally to 20.

It came just 48 hours after he won his 18th and 19th Olympic medals to overtake Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina in the all-time list.

Phelps led from start to finish to hold off Lochte down the final freestyle leg to win in one minute 54.27 seconds, just 0.04secs outside his own Olympic record.

Hungary's Laszlo Cseh claimed the bronze medal.

Lochte had taken bronze behind fellow American Tyler Clary in the earlier final of the men's 200m backstroke and Phelps said his rival for gold would have been feeling that effort.

"That was cool, I knew Ryan (Lochte) would be tough but coming off the 200 back that was a hard double," he told BBC Sport.

Phelps, who revealed he had received a congratulatory phone call from U.S. President Barack Obama, has two more events to add to his tally before retiring from swimming.

He qualified for the final of the men's 100m butterfly later Thursday by winning his semifinal in 50.86 seconds and will be a member of the American medley relay squad.

Earlier, Rebecca Soni broke the women's 200m breaststroke world record for the second time in two days to win Olympic gold.

Soni won in two minutes 19.59 seconds, the first woman under the magic two minutes 20 second barrier.

Japan's Satomi Suzuki took silver and Russian Yuliyia Efimova earned bronze.

Ranomi Kromowidjojo broke the American dominance by claiming the women's 100m freestyle gold for the Netherlands.

She edged out Aliaksandra Herasimenia of the Belarus with Tang Yi of China taking bronze.

source: CNN

Michael Phelps DUMPS Baltimore Condo At $400,000 Loss

Michael Phelps didn't just take a beating in the 200m butterfly recently ... he also got his ASS kicked by the real estate market -- letting go of his swank Baltimore condo for $400,000 less than what he bought it for.

Phelps purchased the 4,080 sq. ft. home in Fells Point back in 2007 for $1.69 million -- but then the housing market crashed ... and so did the value of his home.

The 19-medal-winning swimmer listed the 3-bedroom pad earlier this year for $1.42 million -- but even that was asking too much ... because when he finally sold the place last week ... he could only get $1.25 mill.

For the mathematically challenged, that's a loss in value of $440,000 -- but it's just a drop in the bucket ... the guy's agent once predicted Phelps would earn roughly $100 million during his lifetime from endorsements.

Oh yeah, He's also THE GREATEST OLYMPIAN OF ALL TIME!

source: tmz.com

Lochte Takes Gold in Medley; Phelps Is 4th

LONDON — For nearly a decade Ryan Lochte chased Michael Phelps in the pool, picking up bronzes to Phelps’s golds. But all the while, Lochte has been closing the gap, second by precious second.

Lochte took away one of Phelps’s world records, then his world championships.

On Saturday night, he raced past him on the stage Phelps has dominated since 2004.

Lochte crushed Phelps and the rest of the field to win the 400-meter individual medley at the London Aquatics Centre, finishing in 4 minutes 5.18 seconds. Thiago Pereira of Brazil was second in 4:08.86, edging Kosuke Hagino of Japan, who won the bronze.

Phelps — trailing most of the race and caught by Pereira and Hagino in the freestyle, one of his strongest strokes — finished fourth, more than four seconds behind Lochte.

After the race, while Lochte lounged in the pool accepting congratulations from other swimmers, Phelps was the first one out of the water. He slowly walked across the pool deck, never glancing at Lochte. But Lochte said he later offered his congratulations in the locker room and thanked him for keeping the medal in American hands.

“I kind of made Phelps sound like a jerk, and I think he was just massively disappointed,” Lochte said.

Lochte’s victory over Phelps was his first in four head-to-head races at the Olympics dating to 2004, and gave him a leg up at last in their decade-long rivalry. Lochte was 10 seconds behind Phelps in the 400 I.M. at the 2004 Olympic trials, but had cut that deficit in half by the time he won a bronze behind Phelps in Beijing.

This year Lochte beat Phelps by 0.83 second at the trials, and his victory Saturday night seemed to signal that the torch-passing complete.

Phelps was trying to become the first man to win gold in the same swimming event in three consecutive Olympics, but he is not out of chances. He is also the two-time defending champion in the 200 individual medley — a race in which he will again face Lochte — as well as the 100 butterfly and the 200 fly.

His defeat was his first in an Olympic final since 2004, a run of 12 straight gold medals that has made him the most decorated Olympic swimmer.

The showdown between Phelps, the world-record holder in the event since 2002, and Lochte, his colorful heir apparent on the United States team, was the first marquee matchup of the London Games, but it almost did not happen. Phelps qualified eighth in 4:13.33, coming from behind on the final lap to touch out Laszlo Cseh of Hungary, a two-time medalist in the event, in their preliminary heat. Lochte, meanwhile, coasted noticeably in the final meters of his event, finishing in 4:12.35 but allowing Chad Le Clos of South Africa to surge past him.

Cseh, the silver medalist four years ago and the bronze medalist in 2004, wound up ninth, which meant he would not be able to contend for a third consecutive podium finish.

“I would not have thought this would have been the result,” Cseh said.

The preliminary times meant Phelps and Lochte, instead of staring at one another across a lane rope, were on opposite sides of the pool in the final, with Lochte in Lane 3 and Phelps in Lane 8. There would be no staredown, no “cat and mouse game,” as Phelps once described their temptation in their many duels. More important, Phelps would have a harder time tracking all of his rivals from his position far to their right.

“The only thing that matters is getting a spot,” Phelps said after the morning session.

source: nytimes.com

China claims first gold, Phelps and Lochte do battle

London (CNN) -- China claimed the first Olympic gold of the London 2012 Games Saturday, with a victory for 23-year-old Siling Yi in the women's 10-meter air rifle shooting.

Meanwhile, rival American swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are set to go head-to-head in a battle that will be a highlight of the first official day of the Games.

And Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku became the first athlete to be sanctioned for failing an anti-doping test at the London Games.

Pulaku, 20, tested positive on Monday for the steroid stanozolol, the International Olympic Committee said, and has been excluded from the competition.

Queen Elizabeth II, who officially declared the Games open late Friday, made an appearance at the Aquatics Center Saturday to watch the action.

Phelps and Lochte are competing in the men's 400-meter individual medley -- a race that combines four different swimming strokes -- after both made it through the heats to the final, Phelps only by a whisker.

The 27-year-old Phelps, who already has 14 gold medals from previous Games, is looking to add to his pot of Olympic gold.

Lochte, thought of as the biggest threat to Phelps, is hoping to live up to the hype.

The highly anticipated match-up has had many choosing sides.

Presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he was leaning towards Phelps.

"I think it's more likely to be Phelps but I don't know," Romney said Friday during the opening ceremony.

Legendary swimmer Mark Spitz, winner of seven medals at the 1972 Olympics, said he thinks Phelps' experience will help him in the grueling 400-meter individual medley.

"I put my money on Michael," Spitz said. "It's going to be a good race. Any time they are swimming together it is going to be a great rivalry. A great competition."

But the Phelps-Lochte race is not the only highly anticipated swimming showdown Saturday.

The hosts will get to cheer for their own when Hannah Miley competes in the women's 400-meter individual medley. Miley, who has been called one of Britain's best swimmers, could be challenged by American Elizabeth Beisel and Hungarian Katinka Hosszu.

Team USA's Dana Vollmer set a new Games best of 56.25 seconds in the heats of the women's 100-meter butterfly.

Britain's hopes are high for a medal in Saturday's 250-kilometer cycling road race, in which newly-crowned Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins is expected to aid fellow Briton Mark Cavendish's quest for Olympic gold.

Rowing, another sport in which Britain hopes to excel, also got under way Saturday morning on the lake in Eton Dorney, to the west of London.

Women's basketball begins

Beijing bronze medal winner Russia squared off against Canada Saturday as women's basketball got under way. Later in the day, Team USA plays Croatia.

All teams may be trying to keep the U.S. women from winning their fourth straight gold medal. In fact, at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the 2004 Games in Athens and in Sydney in 2000, the gold medal match-up pitted Australia versus the United States.

Australia, led by 6-foot-5 Lauren Jackson, starts play late Saturday against Team GB.

Women footballers get the ball, men take a break

Women's football comes to the fore Saturday as the men take a break, with Team GB taking on Cameroon fresh from the host nation's rousing 1-0 victory over New Zealand.

Some 25,000 fans showed up to Wednesday's match against New Zealand, the biggest attendance for a women's international match in Britain.

Current FIFA Women's World Cup holder Japan kicked off against Sweden Saturday, with both teams coming off Wednesday victories. Team USA plays Colombia, after surviving a scare against France Wednesday.

source: CNN

Olympics: Phelps seals another London berth

OMAHA - Michael Phelps booked himself into another event at the London Olympics when he won the 200 meters butterfly final at the U.S. swimming trials on Thursday (Friday, PHL time).

The greatest Olympian of all time remained on course to emulate his incredible eight-gold haul from Beijing four years ago with another powerful display in America's midwest.

Showing no sign of fatigue or weariness despite his grueling schedule, the 26-year-old powered away from his rivals over the final two laps to win in one minute 53.65 seconds, more than two seconds outside his world record but still the fastest time in the world this year.

"It's not a good enough time to win a gold medal, but I think I'm okay with it," said Phelps.

"Today was the best my stroke has felt throughout the whole meet. So, in all I'm pleased, but I think I need to go faster if I want to win that at the Olympics."

Phelps's Baltimore club teammate Allison Schmitt, who is rapidly emerging as a star in her own right, clinched her second individual swim in the English capital when she won the women's 200m freestyle final ahead of teenage sensation Missy Franklin.

Schmitt followed up her impressive victory in the 400m freestyle on Monday (Tuesday, PHL time) when she led all the way to win the 200m in 1:54.40, the quickest time recorded since synthetic bodysuits were banned at the end of 2009.

Franklin, who won the 100m backstroke final on Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time), finished second in 1:56.79 to seal her second individual swim and her third overall with the top six finishers all securing places in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Caitlin Leverenz won the women's 200m individual medley to earn her second swim in London after finishing runner-up in the 400m medley. Ariana Kukors, the world record holder, flashed home over the last length to grab second spot.

Favorite event

Phelps has now qualified for London in five events and barring any slip-ups, he will swim the exact eight-event program he contested at each of the last two Olympics, winning six golds and two bronze medals in Athens then eight golds in Beijing.

But of all his events, the 200m butterfly is his favorite and the one he has dominated the most. It was the only event he qualified for at the 2000 Sydney Olympics when he was just 15 and it was the event where he set his first world record and won his first world title.

He won the event at five world championships, has held the world record for more than a decade and won the gold medal at the past two Olympics.

"This is my fourth Olympics Games in this event, so it's special to me, special to my family, special to my mom," Phelps said.

"I have a couple of weeks to perfect some things that I'm going to need if I want to end with a good one."

Tyler Clary, who had finished third behind Phelps and Ryan Lochte in the 400m medley, qualified for his first Olympics when he finished second.

Lochte qualified equal fifth fastest in the semi-finals of the 100m freestyle but later withdrew from the final because he is already swimming the 200m medley and 200m backstroke semis on Friday night.

Lochte could still swim in the 4x100m freestyle relay in London if his time in the semis is not bettered by at least five other swimmers.

"We made a plan going into this meet that I was just going to do semi-finals of 100m free and whatever happens, happens," he said.

Lochte's withdrawal provided a lifeline for Jason Lezak to swim the final. The 36-year-old, whose stunning anchor leg swim in Beijing set the platform for Phelps's record eighth gold medal, was a reserve for the final after qualifying ninth overall. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com