Michael Phelps has had a compelling if troubled four years since his fourth Olympic appearance in London, but it doesn't seem to have taken its physical toll.
Last night, the amphibious 31-year-old blew the world away once more with a stunning display in the 4x100 freestyle relay, producing a manoeuvre that propelled his US team to gold whilst under the cosh from rivals France.
Surfacing a full 2.5 seconds after his French opponent who had touched the wall before him, Phelps' turn in his second leg saw him retake the lead for America - a lead they did not forfeit.
Michael Phelps earns 19th Career Gold as #USA Men's 400 Free Relay claim #Gold in #Rio2016 https://t.co/syDoPYBtsM
— Benjamin Alvarez (@BenjAlvarez1) August 8, 2016
That is GOLD MEDAL #19 for @MichaelPhelps!
🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅
The most decorated Olympian of all time. pic.twitter.com/ezBv303C0R— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 8, 2016
That takes Phelps' Olympic total to 19 gold medals, 23 medals in all, across five Olympic Games.
