Michael Phelps’ story finished with a twist, as the best ones always do. He lost the last solo race of his career, the 100m butterfly final, to Joseph Schooling, a 21-year-old from Singapore. Phelps wasn’t too cut up about it. He has 22 gold medals, but this was Schooling’s, and Singapore’s, very first. Phelps felt he could spare it. And more than that, he found a satisfaction in defeat that seemed almost to matter more to him than another gold medal.
“I’m not happy, obviously, nobody likes to lose,” he said. “But I’m proud of Joe.” He was in a reflective mood. “I wanted to change the sport of swimming,” he said. “With the people we have in the sport now I think you are seeing it.” He explained he wanted to teach kids “to believe in themselves, to not be afraid to know that the sky is the limit.” And that’s exactly what he has done.
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