US swimmer Michael Phelps leaves the pool after he competed in the men’s 400m individual medley final swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 28, 2012 in London. He finished fourth. LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: afplivefour599934
Michael Phelps was 15 years old the last time he competed in an Olympic event and didn’t medal. That was in 2000, in Sydney. Today, Phelps squeaked in to the men’s 400IM final by only 7/100ths of a second, taking the eighth and final spot for the first medal event in men’s swimming at the London 2012 games. US swimmer Ryan Lochte took gold in the 400IM and Phelps finished in 4th, just out of reach of a medal.
Lochte won the event relatively easily, coming in at 4:05.15. Lochte was flirting with Phelps’ world record from the 2008 games in Beijing, but he just missed it in the home stretch. Lochte won the first gold medal for Team USA in swimming. We’ll see if the race puts a damper on the Phelps/Lochte fervor that has been building up coming into these games. Lochte and Phelps have been trading wins in their strongest events over the last year leading up to London, but Lochte’s blowout win in the first event may signal that the medal race won’t be as hot between the two as previously thought.
See more photos from the first meeting of this Olympics between Lochte and Phelps. Check out the latest Olympic photos on our special 2012 Olympics portal from Newscom. You’ll have easy access to all the biggest stories coming out of these games.
LONDON, July 28, 2012 Ryan Lochte of the United States reacts after competing in men’s swimming 400m Individual Medley Final competition at London 2012 Olympic Games in London, Britain, on July 28, 2012. Ryan Lochte won gold medal. Li Gang/ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: zumasportsworldtwo249708
Michael Phelps of the U.S. reacts after finishing in fourth place in the men’s 400m individual medley during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre July 28, 2012. MICHAEL DALDER/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive387335
US swimmer Michael Phelps competes in the men’s 400m individual medley final swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 28, 2012 in London. MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: afplivefour599925
US Swimmer Ryan Lochte competes in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley final during the Swimming competition held at the Aquatics Center during the London 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, 28 July 2012. Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: dpaphotos737154
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Tags: 400im, finals, gold medal, lochte, london 2012, Olympics, phelps