As the Olympic swimming events draw to a close, so does another week of excitement, inspiration and drama. Michael Phelps made history and announced his retirement after earning 28 Olympic medals, but that wasn’t the only exciting story that made world news this week from Rio’s Olympic Aquatics Stadium. Viewers from around the globe tuned in to watch Joseph Schooling beat his childhood idol (Phelps, again) for gold in the 100m men’s butterfly; Ethiopian swimmer Robel Kiros Habte drew much attention—both negative and positive—for his unlikely physique and shameless courage, and American swimmer Simone Manuel made national history as the first African-American woman to win gold in an individual event (while breaking an Olympic record at the same time).
Swimming is one of the most popular events in the Olympics, among our blog readers as well. A survey we conducted over the last few weeks asked readers to pick their favorite events from the Olympic games, and swimming ranked 1st – with 60% of all respondents selecting it as a fan favorite. Check out additional stats in the graphic below:
(And the closing ceremony, for those of you who watch it!)