London (dpa) - In a night of excitement in which it was humanized and relieved, American Michael Phelps jumped out to a scale never before attained in sport: 19 medals in the Olympics.
"Tonight I will try to sleep, but do not know if I'll make it," Phelps said after winning the 4x200 relay in London and free to achieve higher medal number 19, having achieved one hour before the eighteenth with a silver in the 200 butterfly.
Phelps joins 15 golds, two silvers and two bronzes since it began collecting Olympic medals in Athens 2004. Beat well to Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won 18: nine golds, five silvers and four bronzes at the Games in Melbourne in 1956, and Tokio'64 Roma'60.
"There are many emotions in my head right now. But I'm thinking about racing that I have yet to swim," said Phelps, 27. "I always say that anything is possible. I put my mind to do something no one had done before and has been an amazing journey," he added. "Sometimes we work and sometimes not, but we managed to complete something unique."
IOC president Jacques Rogge praised the achievement of Phelps: "He broke the record for the Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina, and in doing so joined a group of athletes who are pursuing excellence in sport." And Rogge reaction to a key moment in 116 years of modern Olympic history was not the only one.
"Beijing 2008 Phelps was to seek perfection, London 2012 was to look in history," wrote immediately the newspaper "USA Today" in its online version. The Brazilian Pele, star of world football history, appealed to Twitter: "Congratulations to @ MichaelPhelps for his record 19 Olympic medals. A true champion."
"The Daily Telegraph" was blunt: "Michael Phelps is not an Olympian. Is THE Olympic".
The story is sometimes written in small details: a miscalculation of Phelps in the final instant of the 200 butterfly and an outstretched arm at the right time by Le Clos to touch the wall in 1:52,96 minutes, five hundredths before the American king of the specialty. The bronze was in the hands of the Japanese Takeshi Matsuda in 1:53,21.
Also written with gestures: a huge yawn of Phelps on the podium while the anthem sounded South African, a few smiles and many more tears after Le Clos and his family at 19:55, when the bitter silver for Phelps. Different was at 20:02, when the golden glory.
"I feel a little better than after the 200 butterfly. Without the boys could not have achieved this, so I thought, 'I'll give you a good last post," said the swimmer of 27 years after beating 6:59, 70 minutes to France and China in a relay which he shared with his friend Ryan Lochte, a rival morning in the highly anticipated 200 meters styles.
Phelps hoped to win gold for third consecutive Games in the 200 butterfly, but failure in the attempt was added to that already experienced in the 400 individual medley, which was fourth. No male swimmer in Olympic history won one major in three consecutive Games.
Despite the setback, Phelps was generous with his rival, who congratulated repeated smiles and pats on the back on the path around the pool to be immortalized by photographers. "Enjoy the moment," he said.
It was almost as if he had taken a load off. After the eight golds in eight finals in Beijing 2008, Phelps now has two silvers and one gold. It is not four years ago, but that is perhaps waiting for the miracle of water, already warned it will not be in Rio 2016. "It was great what you did. Congratulations, was excellent," Phelps told Le Clos in the tour. A few yards further up the near vertical steps of the Aquatic Center, Le Clos mother crying in the stands and shouted "I love you!" toward his son. Then at 21:02, was the mother of the excited Phelps, aware that brought the world the most successful athlete in the history of the Games.
