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Olympian Michael Phelps announced the death of his father, Fred, in an Instagram post Monday.
"You'll always be my dad…And I'll always be your son," Phelps wrote. "…Love you dad and I will miss you❤️❤️ rip dad."
Fellow athletes Lindsey Vonn, CC Sabathia and Adam Jones were among those who offered condolences in the Instagram comments.
As TMZ Sports noted, Fred Phelps played college football and tried out for the Washington football team. He later became a Maryland State Trooper.
Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all-time, winning 28 medals in swimming, including 23 gold medals. He retired after the 2016 Olympics.
The United States has won the 2022 Duel in the Pool after outscoring Australia 309-284 in the three-day event.
The unique competition featured a variety of head-to-head events between the biggest stars from the two countries. Australia kept pace for a while, trailing by just 11 points after two days at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
The Americans secured the win on Sunday, as they came through on several key relays.
Here are the race-by-race results, via Ian Hanson of Swimming World.
Mixed 6x50m freestyle: Australia
Women’s 800m freestyle broken: USA (Bella Sims)
Men’s 200m freestyle: USA (Luke Hobson)
Mixed 4x50m freestyle MC/AB relay: USA
Women’s 3x50m freestyle skins: Australia (Shayna Jack)
Men’s 3x50m breaststroke skins: USA (Michael Andrew)
Women’s 100m butterfly: Australia (Emma McKeon)
Women’s 3x50m backstroke skins: Australia (Emma McKeon)
Men’s 4x100m freestyle: USA
Men’s 100m backstroke: USA (Justin Ress)
Mixed 3x50m freestyle para skins - staggered start: Australia (Will Martin)
Women’s 100m freestyle: Australia (Mollie O’Callaghan)
Men’s 400m freestyle broken: USA
Men’s 50m freestyle: USA (David Curtiss)
Women’s 100m breaststroke: Australia (Chelsea Hodges)
Men’s 3x50m butterfly skins: USA (Shaine Casas)
Mixed 100m freestyle para: Australia (Will Martin)
Women’s Mystery Medley: Australia (Kaylee McKeown)
Random Relay: Australia
Each team had 30 swimmers, including open-water competitors and paralympic swimmers, creating a wide-ranging event.
A mixed-class relay was one of the highlights of the weekend, won by the United States:
The Americans also won a more traditional 4x100m freestyle relay that helped pick up a lot of points in the competition:
The "power play" gave USA double points for the event, and the foursome of Ryan Held, Shaine Casa, Luke Hobson and Grant House came through when needed.
Hobson was especially impressive in his leg, adding to his win in the men's 200m freestyle.
The event also featured a varied lineup compared to a usual swim meet, including skins competitions that eliminated competitors and tested endurance. A mystery medley forced individuals to swim each of the four disciplines, although the order was different for each competitor.
The last race, a "random relay," caused the United States to race a 2x200m freestyle relay against the Australian's 4x100m relay.
The hosts showed a lot of versatility to win the different races, with star Emma McKeon helping to keep the team in contention with several wins. It still wasn't enough to top the United States, which has won every year in the Duel in the Pool.
The United States will carry a 159-148 lead over Australia into the final day of the 2022 Duel in the Pool after a strong showing Saturday at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
After dropping Friday's open-water competition at Bondi Beach, Team USA bounced back in the wide variety of unique events on Day 2.
Here's a look at Saturday's race-by-race results, via Spencer Penland of Swim Swam:
The United States has won each of the seven editions of the Duel in the Pool, which debuted in 2003. The first three victories came against Australia before the event shifted to a U.S. vs. Europe format in 2009. It had been on hiatus since 2015.
Given Team USA's prior dominance, Australia head coach Rohan Taylor is pleased his side has a chance to pull off the upset heading into Sunday, per Kieran Pender of The Guardian.
"If you look at the history, the Duels have normally been a blowout," Taylor said. "But we're hanging in there."
There are 19 races on Sunday's schedule, which will continue to use the multifaceted scoring system that awards separate points for the four styles of events.
A total of $200,000 in prize money will be awarded at the conclusion of the meet, per Ian Hanson of Swimming World Magazine.
Sunday's races begin at 7 p.m. in Sydney (5 a.m. ET in the U.S.). Live coverage is available on USA Swimming's official website.
Kyle Lee overcame an 18-second deficit on the final leg of the mixed 4x800-meter open water relay to give Australia the lead over the United States after Day 1 of the 2022 Duel in the Pool.
The Americans and the Aussies used opposite strategies in the opening race of the three-day event, which took place Friday at Bondi Beach in Sydney. The U.S. used its two men's swimmers at the front of the relay, while the Australians led with their women's swimmers.
It set the stage for an entertaining finish as Lee trimmed the Americans' advantage to nine seconds at the 400-meter mark and then surged ahead inside the final 20 meters for the win, per Martin Pegan of the Australian Associated Press.
"My team put me in a very good position," Lee said. "I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get them, but I just tried to do my best and catch them. It was a pretty close finish. Once I went past Tylor I could see that she was still at my feet so I knew I couldn't back off at the end."
Based on the event's scoring rules, Australia will carry an 8-6 lead into Day 2 as the competition shifts indoors to the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
The United States won each of the first seven editions of the Duel in the Pool, which debuted in 2003. After three iterations of the U.S. vs. Australia, the event shifted to a U.S. vs. Europe theme before going on hiatus following the 2015 competition.
Clark, a college junior who competes on the Ohio State men's swimming team, remembers attending that event seven years ago:
"It was so fun getting to swim a race in such an iconic place like Bondi Beach. It is honestly a dream come true to do this. It's been an amazing opportunity to represent Team USA.
"I went to the last Duel in the Pool they had in 2015 in Indianapolis, and I watched. It was two weeks before our middle school championship and I wanted to get some motivation. So, to be able to compete for Team USA the next time they have Duel in the Pool, it's like what I said before, a dream come true."
After the single event on Day 1, there are 20 races on Saturday's schedule, beginning with the mixed 4x100-meter medley relay.
A total of 40 events will take place before the competition wraps up Sunday.
Ryan Lochte's two bronze medals from the 2008 Beijing Olympics sold for $89,423 on Thursday at RR Auction, according to Darren Rovell of the Action Network.
Lochte put all of his Olympic silver and bronze medals up for auction with the proceeds going to the Jorge Nation Foundation, which raises money for children with serious illnesses to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a destination of their choosing.
"I don’t want people to think I didn’t care about the medals," Lochte told Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports earlier this month. "I cherish them, but they’re just sitting in my closet collecting dust."
"The Ryan Lochte Collection" listed by RR Auction included his lone silver medal from the 2004 Olympics in Athens, his two bronze medals from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and his two silvers and one bronze from the 2012 London Games.
The auction also included his custom 14-karat white gold Olympic ring and his Breitling watch.
Lochte also said he will probably auction some of his Olympic gold medals in the future for charity, per Zaccardi. He won six gold medals over his Olympic swimming career.
Swimmer Klete Keller, who represented the United States in multiple Olympics, pleaded guilty to a felony charge for his role in the deadly attack on Jan. 6 when a pro-Donald Trump mob violently stormed the Capitol.
TMZ Sports reported Keller pleaded guilty Wednesday to obstruction of an official proceeding and could now be looking at multiple years in prison.
Keller, who was identified in video in part because he wore a Team USA jacket while storming the Capitol, said he spent approximately an hour in the building and destroyed his phone in an effort to erase evidence he was present.
He also threw away the jacket.
In February, Rebecca Rosenberg of the New York Post reported Keller received a seven-count indictment after he was initially charged with three counts. He faced counts of obstruction, remaining in a restricted building, civil disorder, disorderly and disruptive conduct, disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building and impeding the passage through the Capitol grounds.
Karen Crouse and Victor Mather of the New York Times reported multiple former teammates and coaches contacted authorities when they recognized him at the Capitol on video.
Keller competed for the U.S. in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Games.
U.S. swimmers won more medals at the Tokyo Olympics than those from any other country by far: Thirty. (For reference, there are 111 swimming medals given out in 37 events.) However, some had been wondering if American swimmers were losing their dominance in the sport.
Hold my beer, said Caeleb Dressel, who won gold and set a new Olympic record of 21:07 in the 50-meter freestyle and set a world record in the 100-meter butterfly (49.45) and an Olympic record in the 100-meter freestyle in his second Olympics. He was also part of the gold-medal-winning 4x100 freestyle and 4x100 medley relay teams (the latter also set a world record). His emotional responses to his wins and records were a touching sight given the stress so many athletes have been under for the last, uncertain year.
And we saw Katie Ledecky win a remarkable third straight gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle and promise us she would vie for more in 2024 and maybe in 2028. She toiled quietly in the shadow of other American stars in her two previous Olympics but cemented her status as legend in Tokyo, where she also won gold in the debut of the women's 1,500-meter freestyle.
Still, just 11 of the Americans' 30 medals were gold. Australia has won 20 medals; nine were gold. Great Britain has won eight total medals, four of which were gold. Half of China's six medals and two of Japan's three have been gold.
But the issue the U.S. faces in the water going forward is less one of power than of star power, Ledecky and Dressel notwithstanding.
Team USA headed to Tokyo without its biggest name, Michael Phelps, who competed in five Olympics and retired after the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 28 total medals, 23 of which are gold. His impact and influence on American swimming are perhaps unparalleled.
Also missing was Ryan Lochte, a veteran of four Games and the second-most decorated male American swimmer with 12 medals. Phelps and Lochte were rivals in several events, elevating both of their profiles. Lochte's filing of a false police report in Rio overshadowed his skill in the water, and he failed to make the Tokyo team.
In 2016, the U.S. won 33 swimming medals, 16 of which were gold. Five golds belonged to Phelps alone. He dominated in the IMs, of course, but also in butterfly and in the freestyle and medley relays. There was not much room atop medal podiums for other countries or other stars. The next-closest team, Australia, had only 10 medals.
The 2012 London (31 American medals, 16 gold) and 2008 Beijing (31 American medals, 12 golds, eight of them famously belonging to Phelps) Games had played out similarly. The American fields were big but shallow at the top. The absence of America's swimming stars in Tokyo left doors open for new talent both domestically and internationally and for emerging nations on the pool scene, notably China and host country Japan, to take some big wins.
China's Wang Shun crashed through one of those doors to win gold in one of Phelps' and Lochte's signature events, one in which the two stars memorably battled in 2016: The 200-meter individual medley. That podium was free of Americans entirely, with Great Britain's Duncan Scott taking silver and bronze going to Jeremy Desplanches of Switzerland.
China's women won the 4x200-meter freestyle relay and set a new world record of 7:40.33, just four hundredths of a second ahead of the U.S. team. Zhang Yufei set an Olympic record of 2:03.86 in winning the women's 200-meter butterfly. China's swimming delegation was smaller than it had been in recent years but showed immense talent.
After years of teams with Phelps and Lochte winning the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, the British men snagged gold in that event, aided by Tom Dean, who had also won gold in the 200-meter free. The American men finished off the podium in the event for the first time in Olympic history, controversially without Dressel, whose time in the prelims would have netted a silver medal for the U.S.
The women's 200-meter and 400-meter IMs belonged to Japanese swimmer Ohashi Yui, a great triumph for the Games’ host country. She won both of Japan's two gold medals.
Eight of Australia's nine golds were won by women, a triumph after the team floundered at the Rio Games in 2016. Ariarne Titmus won two golds, in the 400-meter and 200-meter freestyle, chipping into Ledecky's storied legacy, and Kaylee McKeown swept the women's backstroke events. Emma McKeon won both the 50-meter (23.81) and 100-meter free (51.96) with Olympic records.
Swimming is always a place to see smaller programs or those with smaller delegations make big splashes, and Tokyo was no exception. On the first day of competition in the pool, Tunisia's Ahmed Hafnaoui made a spectacular, steady gain from lane eight on his American and Australian rivals to win the men's 400-meter freestyle. South Africa's Tatjana Schoenmaker set a world record of 2:18.95 in the 200-meter breaststroke, upsetting American favorite Lilly King.
Team USA has many other swimmers coming up the ranks who showed huge promise in Tokyo. Chase Kalisz won gold and Jay Litherland silver in the 400-meter individual medley. The event was formerly a specialty of both Phelps and Lochte, and Phelps still holds the world record.
Lydia Jacoby, a 17-year-old from Seward, Alaska, won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke, surprising both Schoenmaker and King, who won silver and bronze, respectively. Bobby Finke, 21, won gold in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle; he was the first American man to win a gold medal in the latter in decades.
Distance freestyler Katie Grimes, the youngest American swimmer in Tokyo at just 15, and 100-meter butterfly specialist Torri Huske, 18, narrowly missed medaling in their events, but it is likely that we’ll see them come back even stronger in three years in Paris.
Without the spotlight on Phelps and Lochte, American swimming at the Tokyo Games may have seemed a bit dimmer than usual. But their absence allowed new stars to flourish from countries either discovering or rediscovering their abilities in the pool, and it exposed the depth of the American talent we will see over the next decade.
The Great Britain quartet of Kathleen Dawson, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Anna Hopkin won gold in style by setting a new world record in the mixed 4x100-meter medley at the 2020 Olympics.
Great Britain finished with a time of 3:37.58, breaking the previous world record held by China (3:38.41). The Chinese team won the silver, with the Australians taking the bronze.
Mixed 4x100m Medley Final Results
Gold: Great Britain (3:37.58)
Silver: China (3:38.86)
Bronze: Australia (3:38.95)
4th: Italy (3:39.28)
5th: United States (3:40.58)
6th: Netherlands (3:41.25)
7th: Russian Olympic Committee (3:42.45)
8th: Israel (3:44.77)
Team USA was expected to be a serious player in this race. The squad finished second during the qualifying heat to Great Britain.
Things broke badly for the U.S. during the breaststroke portion of the medley.
The United States was in second place after the backstroke when Lydia Jacoby dove into the water. Her run was immediately thrown off because her goggles fell down, covering her nose and mouth, but leaving her eyes exposed.
Jacoby was able to finish the 100 meters in exactly 65 seconds, but the U.S. dropped down to fifth place at that point. The problems were exacerbated when Torri Huske missed getting off the block for the butterfly.
Caeleb Dressel did his best to close the gap over the final 100 meters, finishing in 46.99 seconds, but the deficit was too significant for Team USA to make it onto the medal podium.
After sitting outside of the top three through the first 200 meters, Great Britain moved into the top spot thanks to James Guy's effort in the butterfly. He put the team up by 0.57 seconds over China, leaving Anna Hopkin in excellent position to seal the win in the freestyle.
Hopkin finished the final leg in 52 seconds for the win.
China was steady throughout the race, never dropping below third at the end of each leg. Italy fell off the pace in the second half after holding the lead during the second leg thanks to Nicolo Martinenghi's backstroke performance (58.38).
The Italian team wound up coming in fourth place, just behind the Australian squad that finished third.
China's Shun Wang pulled off a stunning upset in the men's 200-meter individual medley on Thursday night, winning gold, while the United States' Michael Andrew surprisingly missed the medal stand altogether.
Wang swam a time of 1:55.00, besting Great Britain's Duncan Scott (1:55.28) and Switzerland's Jeremy Desplanches (1:56.17). Andrew, who shot out like a cannon but ran out of steam down the stretch, finished fifth (1:57.31).
The men's 200-meter IM had been completely dominated by Michael Phelps this century, as he won gold in the event four straight times dating back to the 2004 Athens Games.
But Shun had experience in the race, winning the bronze at the 2016 Olympics.
Andrew looked like he might have the race in the bag over the first 150 meters, pulling out to a nice lead. But his usual foe, a suspect freestyle, reared its head again, costing him a place on the podium.
Andrew made waves for reasons outside of the pool at these Olympics as well, telling reporters he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 and didn't have plans on getting the vaccine in the future.
Silver medalist Scott, meanwhile, is having an excellent Olympics, having claimed gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay and silver in the 200-meter freestyle.
"I've knocked over 1.5 seconds off my time in that event this year and it's my first proper international medal in that event, so I have to hold my head up high,” he told reporters after the event. "I'm happy with the swim."
