RIO DE JANEIRO — Katie Ledecky even upstaged Michael Phelps at the Olympics on Friday.
Ledecky set a world record by winning the women’s 800-meter freestyle by an astounding 11.38 seconds. She’s only the second woman to sweep the three longest freestyle races at the Olympics and the first one to do it since the 1968 Mexico City Games.
After winning four gold medals at the Rio de Janeiro Games and looking unbeatable, Phelps finally ran out of steam in what was the final individual race of his career — unless he decides to come out of retirement again.
The frenetic finishes in the swimming pool capped a day that included a big escape by the U.S. men’s basketball team and a stunning loss by the women’s soccer squad.
Phelps was seeking his 23rd Olympic gold medal and his fourth straight in the 100-meter butterfly, but he was denied by Singapore’s Joseph Schooling, who got off to a blistering start and built a lead that even Phelps couldn’t overcome.
With Anthony Ervin winning the men’s 50 freestyle and Maya DiRado taking gold in the women’s 200 backstroke, the Americans would have had a clean sweep were it not for the silver by Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history.
Ledecky finished well before Jazz Carlin of Britain touched the wall for silver. She joined Debbie Meyer as the only women to sweep the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle races at the same Olympics.
The United States women’s soccer team was eliminated by Sweden in the quarterfinals, a startling loss for the four-time Olympic champions that left Hope Solo without a shot at gold but with plenty of bitterness.
The U.S. goalkeeper criticized the Swedes for the way they played in beating the Americans 4-3 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw — a result that means the world’s top-ranked team will miss out on an Olympic gold-medal match in women’s soccer for the first time.
Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irving &Co. survived their second straight strong challenge at the Rio Games, fending off Serbia 94-91 when Bogdan Bogdanovic missed a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2 seconds left that would have tied it.
Kevin Durant grabbed the rebound to keep the Americans unbeaten 48 hours after they barely escaped against Australia.