Michael Phelps Won Against Ryan Lochte In Their Final Race At Rio Olympics: Take A Look Back At The Swimmers’ Friendship Over The Years

Michael Phelps won against Ryan Lochte for the last time at the Rio Olympics. Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte have been competing against each other since the 2004 Summer Olympics. Phelps and Lochte are among the most decorated Olympians America has ever seen.

Dozens of medals have been won and thousands of fans have cheered them on, but last night (August 11), the two Olympic swimmers swam against each other for the last time. Michael Phelps won against Ryan Lochte for the last time in Olympic games history, but the two athletes have managed to build a strong friendship over the years that will seemingly last a lifetime.

At the age of 31, Michael Phelps has decided to retire after the 2016 Olympics. Phelps has won more Olympic medals than anyone in history and has competed in the Summer Olympics games since the year 2000. Michael Phelps was just 15-years-old when he made the American team for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

The swimmer made headlines that year as he placed fifth in the 200-meter butterfly. Phelps was the youngest male Olympian since 1932. Since then, Phelps has gone on to win so many world records and awards that it is almost impossible to keep track of.

Michael Phelps had announced once before that he was going into retirement. Phelps had originally claimed that the London Olympics would be his last. However, in 2014, he announced a comeback and joined Team USA once again.

Phelps has practically grown up under the world’s watch. From the age of 15 to 31, the swimmer has been adored by fans across America and even the world. Phelps is to be married to model and Miss California USA Nicole Johnson as soon as he returns from Rio. The two just welcomed a son this past May, Boomer Robert Phelps. After almost a decade of competing in the Olympics, Phelps has decided to settle down with his family.

Olympian Ryan Lochte was not too far behind Phelps in joining Team USA. The swimmer first qualified for the following Olympic games in 2004, held in Athens, Greece. That year marked the first year that Phelps and Lochte swam together and became a worldwide phenomenon.

Phelps and Lochte went on to take the Olympic games by storm over the next 12 years. Although always in competition, the two Team USA swimmers had formed a bonded friendship over the years.

Lochte, 32, has not announced any plans for retirement. Although a year older than Phelps, the swimmer has not been competing for as many years. Lochte has mentioned that he sees himself eventually settling down with a family, but he seems pretty confident that he will be attending the next Olympic games in Tokyo. According to the Inquisitr, Ryan Lochte is actively dating women on the dating app Tinder.

Ryan Lochte posted a photo on Instagram a few weeks ago compiling a few of his favorite memories with Phelps.

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The two swimmers raced each other while training for Rio. Phelps, knowing this would be his last Olympic games, seemed to be capturing all of the memories that he could with his longtime pal.

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Ryan Lochte even happened to celebrate his birthday during one of the first days of the Rio Olympics. Michael Phelps gave a shout-out to the birthday boy with a shirtless selfie featuring Lochte’s newly-colored hair.

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Michael joked in the caption that they were “[t]he old dudes on the team now!!!” The two have been competing together since they were teenagers, and now they are finding themselves to be the eldest on Team USA.

The two competitive swimmers celebrated a gold win together during the 2016 games as half of the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team.

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Phelps and Lochte geared up for their final swim-off by fueling up on a big pasta meal a few hours beforehand. The swimmers hung out in some ice baths while carbo-loading for the big race.

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Time reported that Michael Phelps won against Lochte in the 200-meter individual medley on Thursday night (August 11), but Lochte has yet to admit defeat in their friendly competition or in their friendly bromance.

Michael Phelps made history this year during the Rio Olympics, winning his 22nd Olympic gold medal. His victory marked the 13th individual triumph of his Olympics career. It also meant that Phelps had officially beaten out one of the greatest athletes of ancient Greece and of the Olympic Games — Leonidas of Rhodes.

Phelps, who took his tally to four gold medals at Rio by winning the event for the fourth consecutive Games, surpassed Leonidas after edging out Japan’s Kosuke Hagino and China’s Wang Shun. Not a bad way to go out for retirement.

Lochte has since mentioned that he believes Phelps will be back for the games in Tokyo. He is not ready for the competition to end.

The Team USA men’s former coach during the 2012 Olympics in London, told CBS News this year that Phelps and Lochte have remained competitors and friends over the years, consistently encouraging each other to push themselves to success.

“The competitive environment between those two guys has always been good. Even at their own testament, they both say they bring out the best in each other. And I think there’s a mutual respect, but also they’re very competitive and neither one wants to give in or go home.”

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte’s longtime friendly rivalry may be coming to an end this year, but the two Olympic athletes have built a lifelong friendship that will last beyond the gold medals and games.

[Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images]