TIL Desk Sports/ Michael Phelps won the 19th gold medal of his Olympic swimming career on Sunday after helping the US men’s team to victory in the 4×100 metres freestyle relay. The 31-year-old, making his first competitive appearance in the pool at his fifth Games after sitting out the heats, now has an unprecedented 23 medals with two silvers and two bronzes filling out his tally.
London 2012 champions France took the silver medal and Australia the bronze. Katie Ledecky of the United States broke her own world record on Sunday on the way to winning the women’s 400 metres freestyle gold medal, the first stage of a rare treble she hopes to complete at the Rio Olympics.
Ledecky, who had come close to the record in the morning heats, led from start to finish to set a new mark of three minutes, 56.46 seconds, shaving 1.91 seconds off the previous best she set in Australia two years ago. “It feels really good. I’m pumped. I was so close to breaking it (this morning),” Ledecky said. “I felt good throughout. The swim was almost identical to this morning, but with a bit more pop on the last lap. It’s pure happiness.”
