Phelps beats Lochte in 200 IM to secure Another Gold Medal

By PAUL NEWBERRY | Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Michael Phelps spent the day thinking about all the things he's doing for the final time at the pool. It turns out that included one last win over Ryan Lochte.

Phelps finally has a gold all his own at his final Olympics.

Adding to an already unprecedented medal collection, he claimed his first individual victory of the London Games and handed Lochte a double disappointment on his rival's final night in the pool Thursday.

Phelps set the tone right from the start with a dominating butterfly leg to become the first male swimmer to win the same individual event at three straight Olympics in the 200-meter individual medley. He claimed his 20th career medal — and 16th gold — in 1 minute, 54.27 seconds, just off his winning time in Beijing but still good enough for gold, just ahead of Lochte.

When it was done, there wasn't that water-pounding celebration we've seen so many times from Phelps — just a slight smile as he hung on the lane rope, gazing up at the stands and soaking it all in.

"Going into every call room, I said it's my last semifinal or my last prelim," Phelps said, reflecting on a busy day that included a morning swim, then two more races in the evening. "We're kind of chalking up all the lasts of certain things."

As he stepped on the medal podium — yep, that familiar top rung — Phelps' eyes were glassy and he whispered something to Lochte. Then, staring up at the U.S. flag while the nation anthem played, he bit his lip and seemed to be struggling to hold back the tears.

Phelps has never been too revealing with his emotions away from the pool.

But, with just two days to go in his swimming career, there's a definite chink in the facade.

He's starting to look as human out of the water as he is superhuman in it.

The Steps towards Glory always start with 'G'

Mitt Romney plans to Raise taxes on 95% of Americans.

Greece's Voula Papachristou expelled from Olympics

Greece's Voula Papachristou expelled from Olympics

Yahoo!7 Sports
Paraskevi "Voula" Papachristou is ‘bitter and upset’ after a racist tweet gets her kicked out of Olympics.

Greece's Voula Papachristou lands in the sand after her jump at the Women's Triple Jump final at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, in this file photo dated Friday, June 29, 2012. The Hellenic Olympic Committee has removed triple jumper Voula Papachristou from the team taking part in the upcoming London Olympic Games over comments she made on Twitter making fun of African immigrants and expressing support for a far-right party. “The track and field athlete Paraskevi (Voula) Papachristou is placed outside the Olympic Team for statements contrary to the values and ideas of the Olympic movement,” a statement by the Hellenic Olympic Committee says. Papachristou is in Athens, and was to travel to London “shortly before the track events start,” the announcement says. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file)

IOC Gets Americans Asking for Rule Change

LONDON – American athletes risked disqualification by leading a revolt against the International Olympic Committee on Monday and its draconian laws of forbidding competitors from using social media to promote their sponsors.

Spurred on by the outspoken words of members of the United States team, Olympians from around the world launched a Twitter campaign under the hashtags #Rule40 and #WeDemandChange in an attempt to pressure the IOC into action.

Rule 40 is the section in the athletes’ code of conduct that warns anyone flouting the strict guidelines on the use of social media as a promotional tool will be expelled from the Games.

Dozens of athletes responded angrily, including U.S. 400-meter star runner Sanya Richards-Ross.

"I'd love to show my great sponsors love," Richards-Ross said. "I am one of the very fortunate athletes that work with wonderful sponsors during the Olympic year. [This is an] injustice."

Others took to Twitter to voice their displeasure, although most were careful to avoid any direct mention of the companies that endorse them.

The IOC also frowns upon strong criticism of the organization. National committees warned their athletes that any act of dissent, such as the Rule 40 tweets, could be grounds for disqualification.

That did not stop U.S. 20-kilometer race walker Maria Michta, who gave a heartfelt and eloquent description of how the regulations have affected her.

Read the Rest of this story @ Yahoo!