RIO DE JANEIRO – This loss barely stung, because of all that came before it. Michael Phelps swam an individual race for the last time Friday night at the Rio Olympic Aquatics Stadium, and was beaten by 21-year-old Joseph Schooling of Singapore, a rising junior and NCAA champion at the University of Texas. Minutes later Phelps stood before a cluster of media beneath the stands. He smiled and laughed. “I’m me, so I’m still going to be hard on myself because I don’t like to lose,” said Phelps. “But I’m accepting it. It’s what I had.”
It has been a remarkable week for Phelps in the pool.