Michael Phelps becomes first man in history to win a 'threepeat' - swims last individual Olympic race Friday in the 100m butterfly

Michael Phelps won his first individual gold medal of the 2012 London Summer Olympics on Thursday, winning the 200-meter Individual Medley. Winning this race earned Phelps yet one more special title- he is the first man in Olympic history to win a gold medal in the same event in three consecutive Olympics. "It's a relief to win an individual gold. It's something pretty cool and special to threepeat."

This win gives Phelps a total of twenty Olympic medals, giving the most decorated Olympian in history yet another Olympic medal. Phelps has earned two gold medals as well as two silvers so far in the London Games. To read more on this, click here: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/12697374-michael-phelps-wins-more-olympic-medals-than-any-other-athlete-in-history

Michael Phelps will swim his last individual race of his career on Friday in the 100-meter butterfly. Phelps earned gold medals in this event in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Phelps says the 2012 Games will be his last Olympics. His final race of his Olympic career will be the finals of the 4x100 medley relay on Saturday.

Phelps’ fastest time in the 100 butterfly is 50.86 seconds, giving him a strong chance of taking another gold medal in this event. He does not have any particular winning strategy in the race. "It's the 100. You just kind of go for it and hopefully hang on," said Phelps.

As Phelps gears up toward ending his Olympic career, teammate Ryan Lochte is already looking toward the Rio Olympics in 2016. "I wanted to get all golds in my events, but you know it didn't happen. I’m going to have to live with that and move on and learn from it. Try not to make the same mistakes in the next four years. For the most part," he said, "I'm pretty satisfied."

Phelps said this week has been filled with “lasts”- his last preliminaries, his last individual race, his last race against his rival Ryan Lochte. His emotions show more and more as the week progresses, yet his accomplishments increase. Michael Phelps is truly a phenomenal athlete and he has set a very high bar for up and coming athletes to reach for in the future. Phelps’ presence will be missed in future Olympic games and Ryan Lochte is ready to step up to the plate and steal some of the sunshine.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/olympics/michael-phelps-to-swim-last-individual-olympic-race-1.3879604

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/swimming/story/2012-08-02/ryan-lochte-head-to-head-michael-phelps-london-olympics/56712040/1