TOKYO — Michael Phelps was up in his broadcast seat, a mere observer rather than the driving force of U.S. swimming.
Displaying their trademark depth, the U.S. earned six of 12 medals Sunday on the first morning of finals, showing no signs of slipping even without the most decorated athlete in Olympic history.
From Chase Kalisz’s gold in the 400-meter individual medley to Kieran Smith pulling out a bronze in his first major international competition, there was plenty of red, white and blue on the medal podium in the largely empty arena.
“We were in the warmup pool seeing people get a gold medal, get second, get second and third.