We love sports activities for the enjoyment, pleasure, and unpredictability that it brings us. Above all, we love rivalries — particularly rivalries that proceed for lengthy durations of time and encapsulate a number of showdowns between two (or extra) athletes with unbelievable dominance and longevity. It’s really a blessing to have the ability to witness one of the best on the earth push one another to new heights.
On this article, we’ll spotlight three of those rivalries which have spanned Olympiads — with extra rivalries to come back in future elements. Let’s go for a stroll down reminiscence lane…
1. Michael Phelps v. Laszlo Cseh v. Ryan Lochte
Oh MAN — how will we even start to interrupt this one down??
Let’s begin with this fact: if these three unbelievable swimmers didn’t have overlapping careers, they might every have been essentially the most dominant swimmer of their very own respective eras. As an alternative, from 2004 to 2016, we witnessed maybe the best three-way conflict between three of the best all-round swimmers in historical past.
Ever since Athens, the Massive 3 made their presence recognized within the particular person medleys. Within the 400 IM Olympic closing in 2004, Phelps received in world-record time, with Cseh profitable bronze. Within the 200 IM closing, Phelps received in Olympic File time, with Lochte profitable silver — simply 0.01 seconds of Cseh, who earned the bronze.
In Beijing, they as soon as once more took all SIX medals awarded within the particular person medley occasions — Phelps with two golds, Cseh with two silvers, and Lochte with two bronzes. 4 years later in London, they as soon as once more occupied the whole podium of the 200 IM.
Aside from the IMs, Phelps and Cseh additionally went toe-to-toe fairly a couple of occasions within the 100 and 200 butterfly occasions — most notably at each the 2008 and 2016 Olympics. Phelps and Lochte had their very own plentiful share of showdowns throughout a large number of occasions, starting from the 200 freestyle to the 100 butterfly.
In Phelps’ absence after 2012, Lochte and Cseh continued their dominance on the world stage. Lochte, specifically, would clinch consecutive world titles within the 200 IM in 2013 and 2015 — together with a 200 backstroke world title in 2013. Cseh would clinch a 200 butterfly world title in 2015, marking 10 years since his first world title in 2005 and upsetting Olympic champion Chad le Clos within the course of.
The curtain to this exceptional story was drawn on the 2016 Olympics, with Phelps rising victorious in each the 200 butterfly and 200 IM — Cseh and Lochte, respectively, raced in these Olympic finals as effectively.
How fortunate have been we as swimming followers to have the ability to witness this three-way rivalry at its peak?
2. Ariarne Titmus v. Katie Ledecky v. Summer time McIntosh
Right here’s one other three-way rivalry that has captivated swimming followers in recent times. One thing tells me, nevertheless, that there’s nonetheless way more in retailer for this rivalry.
Maybe it’s the “asymmetry” of this rivalry that makes it most fascinating. You’ve gotten Titmus, who specializes within the “shorter” mid-distance occasions just like the 200 and 400 freestyles. Then you’ve gotten Ledecky, who has completely owned the long-distance occasions and is definitely one of the dominant swimmers that this sport has ever seen. After which there’s McIntosh, the world’s greatest IMer and an amazing distance swimmer as effectively.
And someway, the 400 freestyle is that candy spot the place all three athletes converge for the final word showdown. Up to now, these three athletes are the one three swimmers in historical past to swim as quick as 3:56 within the girls’s 400 freestyle — and so they have every held the world report on this occasion a minimum of as soon as.
Titmus and Ledecky first met on the 400 closing on the 2019 Worlds, the place Titmus upset Ledecky en path to gold. On the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Titmus outdueled Ledecky once more, profitable gold in Olympic File time — with McIntosh in fourth place. In Titmus’s absence on the 2022 Worlds, Ledecky stormed her method to her fourth world title within the occasion, with McIntosh proper behind her in second place. On the 2023 Worlds, Titmus dominated the sector en path to a world report efficiency, with Ledecky in silver and McIntosh in fourth — an analogous outcome to Tokyo.
This set the desk for one of the anticipated Olympic finals in Paris. In truth, the three-way rivalry constructed up a lot anticipation that their 400 freestyle closing was dubbed “The Race of the Century” — solely the second time such a reputation has been bestowed on an Olympic race (do you keep in mind the primary time?). In an epic conflict, Titmus led from begin to end, holding off a hard-charging McIntosh down the ultimate stretch with Ledecky incomes the bronze.
Moreover the 400 freestyle, these three swimmers have dueled it out in different occasions as effectively. Ledecky has by no means misplaced to Titmus in an 800 freestyle in worldwide competitors, with their most up-to-date showdown on this distance handing Ledecky an Olympic four-peat within the occasion. McIntosh, maybe essentially the most versatile swimmer on the earth as we speak, handed Ledecky her first loss in an 800 freestyle race since 2010 — although she didn’t contest the occasion in Paris.
Solely time will inform how the remainder of this rivalry unfolds. Regardless of the outcome, we’ve been blessed as a swimming fanbase to bear witness to one of the entertaining three-way rivalries in current reminiscence.
3. Lilly King v. Yuliya Efimova
Bear in mind the finger-wagging incident? Let’s rewind the clock and try the backstory behind this iconic rivalry that took middle stage on the Rio Olympics.
Previous to 2016, King and Efimova had by no means met in a closing at a global competitors. Efimova’s worldwide profession started a couple of years prior, profitable gold on the 2009 Worlds within the 50 breaststroke and silver within the 100 breaststroke on the age of simply 17. Her success continued over the following few years, amassing two silvers on the 2011 Worlds, a bronze on the London Olympics, and 4 medals — together with two golds — on the 2013 Worlds.
In 2014, nevertheless, Efimova would fail a drug check, thus sidelining her from competitors for 16 months. Moreover, between 2015 and 2016, she would as soon as once more fail a slew of checks — nevertheless, given restricted data of how lengthy the substance remained within the physique, she was allowed to compete. On the 2015 Worlds, she collected a gold and a bronze, and was subsequently allowed to compete in Rio.
King, in the meantime, was tearing up the competitors within the brief course pool at NCAAs while exhibiting her outspokenness in opposition to doping. As an Olympic rookie in Rio, she stood within the prepared room and watched Efimova win her semifinal — and as Efimova reacted, King may do nothing apart from wag her finger on the display screen in disgust.
This set the desk for an absolute thriller. Within the finals of the 100 breaststroke the day after, King would maintain off a fast-charging Efimova to win gold in her first-ever Olympic closing, taking down the Olympic File within the course of.
King would greatest Efimova every time they met in worldwide competitors for the following few years, with King repeating with particular person gold in each breaststroke distances on the 2017 and 2019 Worlds and setting world information within the course of. Throughout these showdowns, the finger-wagging endured, with Efimova even returning the favor and wagging her finger at King in the course of the semifinals of the 100 breaststroke in 2017.
Amazingly, COVID didn’t carry an finish to the finger-wagging. With stories of widespread doping amongst Russian athletes, Efimova and different athletes now competed beneath the Russian Olympic Committee — and King didn’t hesitate to broach the subject of dishonest even earlier than the Olympic Trials.
King and Efimova would meet as soon as once more within the 100 breaststroke closing, although the outcome this time was drastically totally different — with King profitable the bronze and Efimova again in fifth. Just a few days later, King would accumulate one other silver medal within the 200 breaststroke. The 2 athletes have but to compete once more in long-course worldwide competitors since Tokyo — however that does little to remove from the fierce back-and-forth rivalry that they placed on for years.
