Michael Phelps Was Stunned After US Team Dropped Their Best Swimmer at 4?200 Freestyle Relay in Tokyo Olympics: ?Makes It a Lot Harder to Win the Gold?

US swimming legend Michael Phelps is one of the greatest athletes in the entirety of sport. Phelps is a 28-time Olympic medalist and holds several Olympic records. He has also won 23 Olympic gold medals, the most by any athlete in tournament history.

Phelps retired after the Rio Olympics but was still present at the 2020 Olympics as an NBC commentator. During an interview, Phelps shared how disappointed he was when he learned that a top US swimmer was left out for the 4x200m relay.

The US swimming team’s decision left Michael Phelps surprised

During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the US swimming team decided to participate in the 4x200m relay without their A-list swimmer, Caeleb Dressel.

The decision left legend Phelps absolutely stunned. According to Swim Swam, during an interview in 2021, Phelps expressed his views on this decision.

The legendary swimmer said, “It?s shocking. You know, in my opinion, he?s probably the best 200 freestyler in the world. He can probably put up one of the best times that we?ve seen.”

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The swimming team’s prospects of winning gold in the relay depended a lot on Dressel, is what Phelps believed. “Leaving him off that relay, to me, I think makes it a lot harder to win the gold medal,” he added further. Just as Phelps previously anticipated, the US men’s team ended up finishing 4th place in the 4x200m relay.

Olympic achievements of “The Baltimore Bullet”

Phelps is one of the most decorated athletes in Olympics history. Throughout his career, the legend won 28 Olympics medals across categories. Phelps also holds several Olympics records to his name.

These include – most Olympic gold medals [23], Olympic gold medals in individual events [13], and Olympic medals in individual events [16]. To date, Phelps is the only athlete to achieve all three records. As a consequence of his brilliant achievements, he is entitled as the GOAT of swimming and the Olympics.

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Team USA had chosen the lineup of Kieran Smith, Drew Kibler, Zach Apple, and Townley Haas for the 4x200m relay which failed to finish amongst the medals.