LONDON — Michael Phelps broke the record for medals won by an Olympic athlete with 19 as the U.S. took gold in the 800-meter freestyle relay.
Phelps had earlier tied the mark set by former Soviet Union gymnast Larissa Latynina by taking silver in the 200-meter butterfly, edged for the victory by South African Chad Le Clos. This is the fourth Olympics for the 27-year-old American swimmer.
The defending-champion U.S. squad, racing in Lane 4 with a team composed of Ryan Lochte, Dwyer Conor, Rickey Berens and Phelps, stormed to victory in 6 minutes, 59.7 seconds.
Lochte gave the U.S. a commanding lead after the first leg, clocking 1:45.15 as he touched the wall a full body length ahead of Germany’s Paul Biedermann.
Conor and Berens extended the U.S.’s advantage before Phelps brought the team home to loud cheers from the capacity 17,500 crowd at London’s Aquatic Center.