Michael Phelps broke a 2000 year old record as he won his 22nd Olympic gold medal in the 200m individual medley. He also became the first swimmer to win the same event at four consecutive games on Friday.
Finishing at 1:54.66 to claim his 26th Olympic medal and 13th individual medal, Phelps powered past ancient Olympian sprinter Leonidas of Rhodes who had won 12 individual events.
According to ancient texts, Leonidas competed in the Olympic Games of 164 BCE, 160 BCE, in 156 BCE, and finally in 152 BCE at the age of 36.
Phelps was followed by Kosuke Hagino from Japan who won the silver and Wang Shun from China who won the bronze.
Just an hour after winning his 13th individual gold medal, Phelps qualified in fifth place for the 100m Butterfly final that is scheduled to take place on Saturday.
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