RIO DE JANEIRO — Katie Ledecky has led the United States to a gold medal in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay, her third gold medal of the Rio Olympics. Australia claimed the silver and Canada took the bronze.
And Michael Phelps advanced to the final of the Olympic 200-meter individual medley as the top qualifier.
Swimming next to teammate and longtime rival Ryan Lochte, Phelps put up an effortless-looking time of 1 minute, 55.78 seconds Wednesday night to claim the prime middle lane in the final.
Lochte will be right next to him again, ranking second in 1:56.28. Thiago Pereira sent the Brazilian crowd into a frenzy by staying close to the two American stars, finishing third in 1:57.11.
Phelps will be seeking his fourth straight 200 IM title at the Olympics. He’s also got a chance to pull off that feat in the 100 butterfly.
Earlier, 18-year-old Kyle Chalmers of Australia is the new king of speed at the Olympics.
He won the men’s 100m Olympic freestyle title. Belgium’s Pieter Timmers finished second and Team USA’s Nathan Adrian took the bronze medal.
Chalmers dethroned defending champion Adrian in the final of the 100-meter freestyle Wednesday night.
In a furious down-and-back sprint, Chalmers rallied on the return lap to win with a time of 47.58 seconds. Pieter Timmers of Belgium claimed the silver in 47.80, while Adrian made it onto the medal podium — albeit with a bronze this time — in 47.85.
