The fourth day of the Rio Olympic Games kept all eyes on the USA, with swimmer Michael Phelps and the gymnastics team living up to high expectations and taking home the gold.
Michael Phelps celebrated after completing the 200-meter butterfly, a race he had lost at the 2012 London Games to Chad le Clos of South Africa by five-hundredths of a second. One of the most painful defeats of his career, Phelps pushed through and edged out le Clos at the Rio Games.
Phelps only had an hour to prepare to swim the anchor leg of the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle after winning the 200-meter butterfly. Joined by Conor Dwyer, newcomer Townley Hass and fellow swimming star Ryan Lochte, Phelps won yet another gold to add to his medal case. He now has 21 gold medals.
Katie Ledecky had another big night after winning the gold for the 200-meter freestyle – an event she believed to leave her most vulnerable for lost. Next for Ledecky is the 800-meter freestyle in which she won the gold at the 2012 games as a 15-year-old.
No one expected anything less than a gold for the U.S. after a dominate performance in the qualifying rounds for gymnastics. The American woman dominated in all four rotations, with Simone Biles posting the team’s best scores in vault, balance beam and floor exercise. Team USA beat silver medalist Russia by eight points to become the first country to win back-to-back golds in the team all-around since Romania in 200 and 2004.
Madison Kochian and Gabby Douglas each excelled on the uneven bars, their only even in the team all-around. Laurie Hernandez put a near-flawless routine on the balance beam as well as the floor exercise while Aly Raisman shined brightly in her three events – vault, balance beam and floor exercise. They have officially nicknamed themselves “The Final Five” as a nod to coach Martha Karolyi, who is retiring after Rio.
The Rio Olympics have been a struggle for Serena Williams. Despite that, she managed to reach the third round of the women’s singles tennis tournament. That was as far as she would get, though. The tournament’s No. 1 seed fell in straight sets to Elina Svitolina of Ukraine to end her bid at a second successive gold medal. This comes on the heels of Williams getting bounced from the women’s doubles tournament with sister Venus in the first round. That was their first loss ever in Olympic doubles competition.