;Call it swimming’s nirvana, its Valhalla or even an aquatic Elysian fields. However you describe Friday night’s penultimate day of Olympic swimming in Rio, it wouldn’t do it justice.Maya DiRado of the U.S. kicked off the night by snatching gold from Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, the heavy favorite and fastest qualifier in the event, to win her second gold in her first Olympics, whileMichael Phelps ended his competitive individual racing career with a three-way tie for silver and Katie Ledecky set yet another world record to defend her 800m title. And U.S. sprinters Anthony Ervin and Nathan Adrian won gold and bronze, respectively, in the 50m freestyle.
Twelve minutes into the night’s event, Michael Phelps climbed onto the blocks, bent over, and adjusted his feet on the starting platform. He stretched his arms out behind him, then relinquished them to the force of gravity to swing around and smack his back. Slap, slap, slap, three times. It’s a ritual that began when he first started swimming, and stuck with him to his last day as a competitive swimmer. The arena fell silent before the starting gun. Two lengths of the pool in what swimmers consider the most punishing stroke in their arsenal.