• Phelps finishes individual events with gold

    Al Bello / Getty Images

    U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps points to the crowd following the podium presentation where he was presented with the gold medal in the men's 100m Butterfly Final on Day 7 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on Aug. 3.

    Reuters reports -- Michael Phelps, showing no signs of complacency after breaking every imaginable record in Olympic swimming, won the men's 100 meters butterfly gold medal at the London Games on Friday.

    On the eve of his retirement, Phelps provided an unforgettable reminder of his incredible talent and determination when he came from seventh at the turn to overpower his rivals and win in a time of 51.21 seconds. Read more

    Toby Melville / Reuters

    U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps celebrates winning gold in the men's 100m butterfly final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on Aug. 3.

    Michael Dalder / Reuters

    South Africa's Chad le Clos, left, and Michael Phelps of the U.S. compete in the men's 100m butterfly final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre Aug. 3.

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  • Phelps beats Lochte in 200 IM in final duel

    Mark Duncan / AP

    Michael Phelps, top, and Ryan Lochte of the United States compete in the men's 200-meter individual medley swimming final on Aug. 2.

    David Gray / Reuters

    Phelps swims to win the men's 200m individual medley final.

     

    Clive Rose / Getty Images

    Debbie Phelps, center, the mother of Michael Phelps and his sisters Hilary Phelps, left, and Whitney Phelps, cheer him on during the men's 200-meter individual medley swimming final on Aug. 2.

    Dennis M. Sabangan / EPA

    Michael Phelps with his gold medal.

     

     Reuters reports: Michael Phelps  became the first male swimmer to win the same event at three successive Olympics when he clinched the men's 200 meters individual medley gold medal at the London Games on Thursday.

  • Celebrations as US men's team wins gold medal in Olympic 200-meter freestyle relay

    Daniel Ochoa De Olza / AP

    United States' Conor Dwyer, left, Ryan Lochte, center, and Ricky Berens, right, celebrate as Michael Phelps closes in on their team's gold medal win in the men's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, on July 31.

    Lee Jin-man / AP

    United States' Michael Phelps dives in to start the last leg of the men's 4 X 200-meter freestyle relay before their gold medal win at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, on July 31.

    Michael Dalder / Reuters

    Michael Phelps of the U.S. holds his 19th Olympic medal presented to him in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay victory ceremony during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre, on July 31.

    Reuters -- Four years after he climbed to the top of Olympic achievement, Michael Phelps took the last step he needed to reach the absolute peak.

    The greatest swimmer of all time became the most decorated Olympian of all time when he won a record 19th Olympic medal at the London Games on Tuesday.

    With a little help from his American friends, Phelps won his first gold medal in London in the 4x200 meters freestyle less than an hour after a shock defeat in the 200 butterfly, an event he has dominated for over a decade.

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    Matt Slocum / AP

    United States' Ricky Berens, left, and United States' Michael Phelps react as they win gold in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, on July 31.

    Lee Jin-man / AP

    United States swim team members, from left, Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer, Ricky Berens and Michael Phelps walk with a U.S. flag after being awarded the gold medal for their win in the men's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, on July 31.

     

  • Lochte beats Phelps in 400m IM at Olympic swim trials

    Mark Humphrey / AP

    Ryan Lochte, right, leads Michael Phelps in the men's 400-meter individual medley final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Monday, June 25, 2012, in Omaha, Neb.

    nbcolympics.com reports: Phelps was exhausted afterward while speaking to a huge throng of reporters in the mixed zone. “It was a little painful. After watching Ryan swim this morning and I know how Tyler always swims that race, he’s a very strong front-half swimmer,” said Phelps, who confirmed to NBC’s Andrea Kremer he will swim the race in London. “I just tried to put myself in a good position for the first 200.”

    Surprisingly, Lochte wasn’t entirely satisfied with his time. In fact, he was not happy. “That time was not good at all, I know I'm capable of going way faster,” he said. “There was definitely a lot of places during that race where I knew I could go as faster, I just didn't.”  Continue reading the full story.

     

  • Olympic swim trials commence in Omaha, Neb.

    Al Bello / Getty Images

    Michael Phelps competes in preliminary heat 10 of the Men's 400 m Individual Medley during the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb. on June 25, 2012.

    David Phillip / AP

    Peter Vanderkaay swims in the men's 400-meter freestyle preliminaries.

    Mark Humphrey / AP

    William Nicely, from left, David Ingraham, Nolan Tesone and Stephen Schmuhl swim in the men's 400-meter individual medley preliminaries.

    Although Michael Phelps dominated in Beijing, Ryan Lochte is proving to be a formidable challenger. The 27-year-old, who has trained nonstop for the past four years, is focused on London. He's beaten Phelps, but never at the Olympics. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

    Read about the trials here

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  • Michael Phelps predicts records will tumble in new swimsuit

    Kathy Willens / AP

    Athletes from the United States swim team model highly technical swimsuits during a news conference debuting Speedo's new Fastskin 3 swimsuit in New York, Nov. 30, 2011. Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is shown, fifth from right.

    By Rich Shulman

    I'm fascinated by the "arms race" of technology in swimsuit design. I wonder what the Chinese and Australians have up their sleeves.

    Reuters reports:

    NEW YORK - The bodysuit war that reduced the 2009 swimming world championships to farce and effectively turned the sport into a battle of technology could erupt again on Wednesday when Michael Phelps takes to the catwalk to launch a new outfit for next year's London Olympics.

    Phelps was bitterly opposed to the now-banned swimsuits that were used in Rome two years ago, refusing to wear them because he believed they aided buoyancy, but he is getting ready to promote a new space-age suit.

    Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

    U.S. Olympic gold medallist swimmer Michael Phelps (L) and U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin model the new Speedo brand swimsuits "Speedo FASTSKIN3" at a news conference in New York Nov. 30, 2011.

     

    Olympic sports coverage on NBSSports.com

  • Michael Phelps wins 200m fly at Swimming Worlds for first gold medal

    US swimmer Michael Phelps competes in the final of the men's 200-metre butterfly event in the FINA World Championships at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai on Wednesday, July 27. He won gold. Christinne Muschi / Reuters; Francois Xavier Marit / AFP - Getty Images

    Philippe Lopez / AFP - Getty Images

    US swimmer Michael Phelps competes in the men's 200-metre individual medley in the FINA World Championships on Wednesday.

    The AP reports:

    SHANGHAI - There was no stopping Michael Phelps this time - and Federica Pellegrini still can't be stopped.

    Michael Phelps wins the 200m butterfly final to capture his first gold medal of the 2011 World Swimming Championships.

    Having failed to win his opening two events at the world championships, Phelps finally got gold in the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday. In the next event, Italy's Pellegrini won the 200 freestyle to become the first woman to sweep the 200 and 400 at consecutive worlds. Continue reading.

     

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