Published August 10, 2016 | Â Associated Press
Michael Phelps sat alone, thoroughly exhausted. He put his head in his hands and then motioned at his neck as though he had nothing left to give.
No need.
His work was done.
He had his 20th and 21st gold medals.
Phelps made up for one of the rare losses in his brilliant career by winning the 200-meter butterfly Tuesday night, a victory that sent him climbing into the stands to kiss his 3-month-old son Boomer. An hour later, he returned to take what amounted to nothing more than a triumphant victory lap in anchoring the 4×200 freestyle relay, the crowd’s deafening roar growing louder with every stroke.
“That was probably one of my most challenging doubles,” the 31-year-old Phelps said. “Doing a double like that is a lot harder than it once was.”