Michael Phelps Ties Olympic Record: Looking to Break Record Wed
Michael Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle on Tuesday morning for his ninth career Olympic gold medal, now it was time for another.
Another smooth swim for Michael Phelps on Monday evening as he swam the 200 freestyle in 1:53.7. He was expected to dominate this event.
Phelps has been the big story of the Olympics to date.
"I just wanted to save as much energy as I could for the relay," Phelps said after the Monday morning swim.
That strategy paid off, as Phelps and his teammates pulled off a come-from-behind victory in the relay, with Phelps swimming the opening leg. Jason Lezak, who swam the anchor leg, mounted a stunning comeback over the French team in the last 25 meters.
Next up, Event No. 4: 200 butterfly
When is the final: Wednesday morning Beijing time, Tuesday night in the U.S.
How hard is it: Easiest of the bunch and Phelps should break the record.
From ESPN.com:
This is Phelps' baby. He has held the world record for nearly 7½ years and has posted the five fastest times in the history of the event. A mistimed finish in the U.S. trials is probably the only thing that separated him from lowering his own record -- he missed by .11 seconds.
The only other swimmer in the all-time top nine times in the 200 fly is American teammate Gil Stovall, who finished 1.66 seconds behind Phelps at the trials. Stovall is an Olympic rookie who will be racing for silver, as will everyone else in the final.
Phelps was actually a -1300 favorite to win the gold here at BetUS.com. Considering how big a favorite he was in previous events, this might be a great value pick.
Odds were courtesy of BetUS.com
Michael Phelps (USA) -1300
Ryan Lochte (USA) +450
Laszlo Cseh (HUN) +2000
James Goddard (GBR) +5000
Liam Tancock (GBR) +6500
Thiago Pereira (BRA) +6500
Gregor Tait (GBR) +10000
Brian Johns (CAN) +12000
Dinko Jukic (AUT) +15000
Tamas Kerekjarto (HUN) +15000
Leith Brodie (AUS) +20000
Vytautas Janusaitis (LTU) +20000
