United States’ Simone Biles performs on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics women’s individual all-around final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) RIO DE JANEIRO – Michael Phelps and Simone Biles powered their way to more gold medals with rousing routs at the Rio Games on Thursday.
Sauntering to the sounds of Latin music befitting the beaches and boulevards of Rio de Janeiro, Biles soared to the women’s all-around gymnastics title.
Hours later, Phelps blew away rival Ryan Lochte – and everyone else, for that matter – to win his fourth gold medal of the Rio Olympics and 22nd overall with a victory in the 200-meter individual medley.
This was touted as the last showdown between two of America’s greatest swimmers, though there’s never been any question about which one had the upper hand. Lochte didn’t even reach the podium this time, fading to fifth after leading at the midway point.
Simone Manuel of the United States and 16-year-old Penny Oleksiak of Canada tied for the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter freestyle, upsetting world-record holder Cate Campbell. Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming.