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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Michael Phelps waggled four fingers, recognizing another historic achievement.Now, hes the first swimmer ever to win the same event at four straight Olympics.Ryan Lochte was left in his wake every time.In what was billed as the final showdown between two of Americas greatest swimmers, Phelps blew away Lochte -- and everyone else -- to win his fourth gold medal of the Rio Olympics and 22nd overall with a victory in the 200-meter individual medley Thursday night.Phelps finished a full body-length ahead of the field on the breaststroke and freestyle legs, finishing in 1 minute, 54.66 seconds.A 12-time Olympic medalist, Lochte didnt even make it to the podium this time, after taking two silvers and a bronze behind Phelps at the last three Olympics in this event.Leading at the midway point, Lochte faded to fifth -- nearly 3 seconds behind the winner.Japans Kosuke Hagino took the silver, while Chinas Wang Shun claimed the bronze.But Phelps was in a league of his own.As usual.Hes got one more individual event at what he insists will really be his final Olympics -- remember, he already retired once -- and will be looking to add a fourth straight gold in the 100 butterfly to his staggering resume.Then, hell close out these Olympics in the 4x100 medley relay.There seems little doubt hell go six-for-six.Led by Phelps, it was quite a night for the powerful American team, which picked up two more golds when Ryan Murphy completed a sweep of the mens backstroke events in the 200 and Simone Manuel tied 16-year-old Canadian for the top spot in the 100 freestyle, stunning world-record holder Cate Campbell of Australia.With the win, Manuel became the first African-American woman to capture gold in swimming.Her fingernails painted red, white and blue, Manuel broke down in tears when she recognized her historic achievement in a sport that still struggles to attract people of color.Campbell and her younger sister, Bronte, were hoping to battle for gold after teaming up to lead Australia to a victory in the 4x100 free relay.Neither one made the podium by themselves. Cate was under her own world-record pace at the turn, but had nothing coming back and fell all the way to sixth. Bronte was second at the turn and slid to fourth at the finish.I should have stepped up and performed better, but thats the way the chips fell, Cate Campbell said. When youre in form coming into an event, its hard not to think about outcomes and I think I just let my imagination run away with me a little bit.Murphy extended American dominance of the backstroke events, which goes back to 1992.The Barcelona Games were the last time the United States lost a mens final in those events.Three days after winning the 100 back, Murphy touched first again in 1:53.62.Murphy became the third American man in the last five Olympics to take both races. Aaron Peirsol pulled off the sweep at Athens in 2004, while Lenny Krayzelburg claimed both golds at the 2000 Sydney Games.My goal was to win one gold, Murphy said. That was a real breakthrough for me to be able to win that one. The 100 back was an event that comes a little bit more natural. The 200 back is an event I really have to dig deep for, so this one means a little bit more to me.Australias Mitch Larkin grabbed the silver in 1:53.96, just ahead of Russias Evgeny Rylov with the bronze in 1:53.97.The Olympics came to an end for another U.S. backstroke champion.Missy Franklin finished 14th in the semifinals of the womens 200 back -- beating out only two other swimmers. It was a far cry from the London Games, where Missy The Missile became only the second American woman to take four gold medals in a single Olympics.This time, she was limited to a single gold, which came for swimming the preliminaries of the 4x200 freestyle relay. Franklin failed to even make it to the final of her two individual events.In the only non-American victory of the night, Rie Kaneto of Japan pulled away from Yulia Efimova to take gold in the womens 200 breaststroke.Kaneto grabbed the lead on the third of four laps and powered to the finish comfortably in front. The winning time was 2:20.30.Efimova was 1.67 seconds behind, leaving the Russian with another silver medal. She also finished second to American Lilly King in the 100 breaststroke after initially being banned from the Rio Games for her links to the Russian doping scandal.Chinas Shi Jinglin took the bronze in 2:28.28.Of course I wanted gold like any other athlete, especially at the Olympics, and it was so close, Efiomova said. But I was really pleased with todays medal and the one that came before it because looking back at what happened to me over that time, its a big step. Im happy with myself.Phelps hustled off after his victory, knowing he had to come back about 40 minutes later for the semifinals of the 100 butterfly, another event hell be trying to win for the fourth straight time.As usual, Phelps pulled off the grueling double, advancing to Friday nights final with the fifth-fastest time.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . Aaron Ekblad Jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Connor Brickley Jersey . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. http://www.nhlpanthersauthority.com/authentic-derek-mackenzie-panthers-jersey/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Henrik Borgstrom Jersey . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Ian McCoshen Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Oft-injured Victor Cruz isnt giving up on his hope to play for the New York Giants.The 29-year-old wide receiver remained optimistic Wednesday despite being sidelined the past few days by a groin injury.The latest injury has many wondering whether Cruz is starting another phase of getting close to playing and then having a setback. He missed all of last season with a calf injury and was limited to six games in 2014 by a knee injury sustained against the Philadelphia Eagles.Cruz was defiant when asked what he had to say to those who feel his career is over after six seasons.Tune in, he said.While he did not practice Wednesday, Cruz ran some drills under the supervision of strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman.I felt good, Cruz said. We ramped it up a little bit today. We are going to be picking up the intensity as these days progress, just to pick it up a little bit and see where I am physically and do some change of direction stuff toward the end of this week and see where it goes, but I feel great.Coach Ben McAdoo said its too early to say whether Cruz will practice Thursday. The coach added he wanted to see him practice for a week before puttinng him in a game.ddddddddddddeneral manager Jerry Reese recently said he wants to see Cruz play in two preseason games. He missed the preseason opener against Miami.If he does not, the Giants have to decide whether to keep him on their 53-man roster.Obviously. I am a normal human being, so I think about that stuff, but all I can do is take care of what I can take care of and control what I can control and that is my health and being out there when I can, he said.Cruz said he is getting plenty of support at home and from the Giants, so he is not hanging my head low.This is just another test that God is putting me through to make sure that I make it through and cherish the other side, so I am treating it as such and making sure that I am ready when my number is called, said Cruz, who had 241 catches for 3,626 yards and 23 touchdowns between 2011-13.Cruz participated fully when training camp late last month, but his workload was dialed back after a week as a precaution.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys China NFL Hoodies Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Wholesale Jerseys 2019 NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys From China Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap NFL T-shirts Wholesale NFL Gear NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Jerseys 2020 Cheap NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Jerseys ' ' '