- Title: Phelps calls Tunisian Hafnaoui's win 'unbelievable', Briton Peaty 'a stud'
- Date: 25th July 2021
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 25, 2021) (REUTERS) MICHAEL PHELPS, 23-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL-WINNING U.S. SWIMMER, WALKING IN FOR INTERVIEW / SITTING DOWN (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL PHELPS, 23-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL-WINNING U.S. SWIMMER, ON AHMED HAFNAOUI'S SWIM AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOKYO OLYMPICS AND THE PAST, SAYING: "Unbelievable swim. He dropped almost four and a half seconds, five seconds off his PB (personal best). So being able to swim that and out of lane one - lane eight, excuse me. That's what I've been talking about, I think, pretty much all morning. The difference in this, these Olympics compared to ones in the past, in my opinion, is every single person in the finals has a chance to win a gold medal. Right? Like, it doesn't matter if you're in lane one, lane eight, lane four, lane. It doesn't matter. Every single human being in that final is close. The 400 IM (individual medley) this morning to make the finals was less than a second between first and eighth. Right. So I just feel like the globe as a whole is really starting to step up and swim faster. And I think for me, it's fun to watch. It's amazing to be able to see kids stand up and accomplish their goals and their dreams."
- Embargoed: 8th August 2021 09:20
- Keywords: Michael Phelps Olympian Michael Phelps Olympic swimming Olympics Tokyo 2020 Tokyo Olympics sports swimmer Michael Phelps swimming
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN / RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL / BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES / LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN / RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL / BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES / LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Olympics,Sport,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA004ENC8UH3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Michael Phelps hailed Ahmed Hafnaoui for his "unbelievable swim" on Sunday (July 25), saying the 18-year-old Tunisian's shock victory in the men's 400m freestyle was a great example of how swimming at the Tokyo Games is likely to have a series of wide-open races.
Hafnaoui was the slowest qualifier but, from lane eight, held off fancied Australian Jack McLoughlin and American Kieran Smith for a huge upset.
"Unbelievable swim, I think he knocked almost five seconds off his PB (personal best)," Phelps told reporters in Tokyo. "The difference between these Olympics and the past, in my opinion, is that every single person in the final has a chance of winning gold - it doesn't matter if you are in lane one, eight, or four, everyone is close.
Phelps said he was unsure whether one of the drivers of that levelling up was the impact of COVID-19 and the consequent disappearance of so many races and training opportunities. "You can probably go both ways with that," he said.
Though he has an obvious interest in the performances of his fellow Americans, Phelps said he was also particularly impressed by Briton Adam Peaty, who is defending his 100 metres breaststroke title after having totally dominated the event for years.
"He is an absolute stud," Phelps said. "To have 14 of the top 15 times ever swum in that race - he's doing things that, besides being impressive, are crazy. (Peaty now has the top 16 fastest swims in the event).
Phelps retired - for the second time - after the 2016 Rio Games with an astonishing 23 gold medals to his name and was speaking in one of his new roles as an ambassador for official Olympic timekeeper Omega.
(Production: Nathan Frandino, Mitch Phillips) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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