Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps: The Thrill of Victory and The Agony of Defeat — Olympic Games Day 1
Photography by: Getty Images
Surely, the most talked-about American athletes in pre-Olympics discussion have been Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, who yesterday finally went head-to-head in a battle for the gold. Michael was, of course, the returning champion, the seemingly untouchable swimmer who dominated at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Ryan was the long-overshadowed athlete telling reporters 2012 would be a different story — this is his year.
And he was right (or at least, he is so far). In a stunning turn of events, Michael failed to even place in the 400-Meter Individual Medley yesterday, while Ryan took the gold. His time? 4 minutes, 5.18 seconds. Brazil's Thiago Pereira won the silver with a time of 4 minutes, 8.86 seconds, and Japan's Kosuke Hagino claimed the bronze in 4 minutes, 8.94 seconds.
