Can’t get enough of Michael Phelps? Well neither can the rest of the world.
This afternoon NBC’s Today posted their #2016BestNine photo collage–a grouping of Today‘s most-popular Instagram photos from 2016–which included two pictures of the greatest Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps.
The first of the Phelps pictures shows the GOAT with his lustrous 2016 Olympic medal haul of 6 medals (5 gold & 1 silver) draped around his neck. In the second of the two Phelps photos we actually see two images of the most decorated Olympian of all time: on the left a young, 19-year-old Phelps holds up his first Olympic gold which he won by way of crushing the field and setting a new world record in the 400 IM in Athens, 2004; on the right Phelps holds his final Olympic gold medal, won in Rio by way of the 400 medley relay in which Phelps, Ryan Murphy, Cody Miller, and Nathan Adrian established a new Olympic record.
Phelps is joined by fellow 2016 Olympians Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian, Laurie Hernandez, and Aly Raisman in Today‘s #2016BestNine collage. Known as the ‘Final Five,’ the quintet from Team USA won gold in the women’s team gymnastics event in Rio for the second straight Olympics by a margin of 8.209 points–the largest margin of victory ever since the “Perfect 10” scoring system was replaced with the current scoring system, implemented into gymnastics in 2006.
Also featured in Today‘s #2016BestNine are two babies born to members of Today‘s cast (though none of Mr. Boomer Phelps), the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, and a double image of actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet: one from the movie Titanic, the other from a recent red carpet event.
In addition to the gold medals he won in the pool and lucrative endorsements he scored out of the water, Michael Phelps won big on the internet and social media in 2016. In August, shortly after the conclusion of the Rio Olympics, we wrote that Phelps was the most-mentioned athlete on Twitter during the Olympics. A few weeks ago, the Phelps “Rule Yourself” Under Armour ad was named best ad of the year by the Adweek.
Here’s a look at all 9 photos:
Nuotofan, here’s the 400 IM final in Athens.
We can see MP and Vendt at the end of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgLhHe0P–4
And the post-race interview with both medalists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5mNRvZ2X0
Thanks Bobo. It’s incredible how well I still remind many Phelps’ races.
A great one, and a rare one which Phelps lost, was the 100 fly at Worlds2003.
Three men: Phelps, Crocker and Serdinov who, between semifinals and final, set the WR at an incredible level.
After Serdinov had made his mark in the first semi, Phelps swam the new WR in the second semifinal and then a new huge PB in the final (51.1, with a tremendous back-half race).
Unfortunately for him, Ian Crocker was the first man to dip under the 51″ bareer, an astonishing improvement before those Worlds.
In that first (of 23.., incredible) golden race at Athens2004, I remember how Phelps was thrilled for the unexpected silver won by Erik Vendt.
Just after the end of the race, he crossed the lanes to join the lane 1, in which had swum Vendt, who will be an important training fellow for Phelps towards the hystoric haul at Beijing2008.
It was only the first, but that race was a “summa” of the following Olympic career of Michael: first Olympic gold at his neck (and first WR), and the silver won by his great mate, instead of the expected rival Laszlo Cseh.
Great comment but that wasn’t his first WR. His first WR was set in the 200 butterfly back in 2001
And I’m still waiting for the video of that first world record in the 200 fly made in Austin on March 30, 2001….
Mel Stewart was not in the pool that day with his old camera?
Yes, I meant first WR in an Olympic golden race.
I well remind Phelps career and perhaps my favorite year is 2003, with great performances before Worlds, at Barcelona Worlds and above all AFTER Barcelona Worlds (another WR in 200 im, a great 400 free and so on).