RIO DE JANEIRO -- Michael Phelps waggled four fingers, recognizing another historic achievement.Now, hes the first swimmer ever to win the same event at four straight Olympics.Ryan Lochte was left in his wake every time.In what was billed as the final showdown between two of Americas greatest swimmers, Phelps blew away Lochte -- and everyone else -- to win his fourth gold medal of the Rio Olympics and 22nd overall with a victory in the 200-meter individual medley Thursday night.Phelps finished a full body-length ahead of the field on the breaststroke and freestyle legs, finishing in 1 minute, 54.66 seconds.A 12-time Olympic medalist, Lochte didnt even make it to the podium this time, after taking two silvers and a bronze behind Phelps at the last three Olympics in this event.Leading at the midway point, Lochte faded to fifth -- nearly 3 seconds behind the winner.Japans Kosuke Hagino took the silver, while Chinas Wang Shun claimed the bronze.But Phelps was in a league of his own.As usual.Hes got one more individual event at what he insists will really be his final Olympics -- remember, he already retired once -- and will be looking to add a fourth straight gold in the 100 butterfly to his staggering resume.Then, hell close out these Olympics in the 4x100 medley relay.There seems little doubt hell go six-for-six.Led by Phelps, it was quite a night for the powerful American team, which picked up two more golds when Ryan Murphy completed a sweep of the mens backstroke events in the 200 and Simone Manuel tied 16-year-old Canadian for the top spot in the 100 freestyle, stunning world-record holder Cate Campbell of Australia.With the win, Manuel became the first African-American woman to capture gold in swimming.Her fingernails painted red, white and blue, Manuel broke down in tears when she recognized her historic achievement in a sport that still struggles to attract people of color.Campbell and her younger sister, Bronte, were hoping to battle for gold after teaming up to lead Australia to a victory in the 4x100 free relay.Neither one made the podium by themselves. Cate was under her own world-record pace at the turn, but had nothing coming back and fell all the way to sixth. Bronte was second at the turn and slid to fourth at the finish.I should have stepped up and performed better, but thats the way the chips fell, Cate Campbell said. When youre in form coming into an event, its hard not to think about outcomes and I think I just let my imagination run away with me a little bit.Murphy extended American dominance of the backstroke events, which goes back to 1992.The Barcelona Games were the last time the United States lost a mens final in those events.Three days after winning the 100 back, Murphy touched first again in 1:53.62.Murphy became the third American man in the last five Olympics to take both races. Aaron Peirsol pulled off the sweep at Athens in 2004, while Lenny Krayzelburg claimed both golds at the 2000 Sydney Games.My goal was to win one gold, Murphy said. That was a real breakthrough for me to be able to win that one. The 100 back was an event that comes a little bit more natural. The 200 back is an event I really have to dig deep for, so this one means a little bit more to me.Australias Mitch Larkin grabbed the silver in 1:53.96, just ahead of Russias Evgeny Rylov with the bronze in 1:53.97.The Olympics came to an end for another U.S. backstroke champion.Missy Franklin finished 14th in the semifinals of the womens 200 back -- beating out only two other swimmers. It was a far cry from the London Games, where Missy The Missile became only the second American woman to take four gold medals in a single Olympics.This time, she was limited to a single gold, which came for swimming the preliminaries of the 4x200 freestyle relay. Franklin failed to even make it to the final of her two individual events.In the only non-American victory of the night, Rie Kaneto of Japan pulled away from Yulia Efimova to take gold in the womens 200 breaststroke.Kaneto grabbed the lead on the third of four laps and powered to the finish comfortably in front. The winning time was 2:20.30.Efimova was 1.67 seconds behind, leaving the Russian with another silver medal. She also finished second to American Lilly King in the 100 breaststroke after initially being banned from the Rio Games for her links to the Russian doping scandal.Chinas Shi Jinglin took the bronze in 2:28.28.Of course I wanted gold like any other athlete, especially at the Olympics, and it was so close, Efiomova said. But I was really pleased with todays medal and the one that came before it because looking back at what happened to me over that time, its a big step. Im happy with myself.Phelps hustled off after his victory, knowing he had to come back about 40 minutes later for the semifinals of the 100 butterfly, another event hell be trying to win for the fourth straight time.As usual, Phelps pulled off the grueling double, advancing to Friday nights final with the fifth-fastest time.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . Wholesale Air Max 720 UK Online .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Discount Air Max 720 UK . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. http://www.wholesaleairmax720uk.com/ .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Air Max 720 UK For Sale . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Air Max Shoes UK . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games.EDMONTON - Edmontons mayor says hes optimistic about a special council meeting on the proposed downtown arena. Stephen Mandel wont give any details, saying councillors need to hear about and discuss the issues at the meeting Wednesday afternoon. Councillors dont know what exactly the arena update will be, but Don Iveson thinks it must be something of substance. Last week, Mandel asked for and got the support of the Capital Region Board to support Edmontons bid for a $25 million portion of the Regional Collaboration Program. The program is expected to offer $141 million over the next three years for projects that benefit regions as a whole. If the application is successful, and the city receives the full amount, Edmonton would still need to find $30 million to cover the remaining amount for the arena. City council voted unanimously last weeek to defer the debate on funding for the downtown arena to a later date, to give time to explore other funding options for the project.dddddddddddd The city has already agreed in principle to build a rink and share the costs with Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz. The Katz Group wouldnt confirm if theyd have someone at Wednesdays meeting, but officials seemed encouraged by the mayors optimism. The arena has divided citizens and detractors say the deal is too lopsided in favour of Katz if public money is needed for the rink. Edmonton taxpayers will pay $219 million toward the 18,559-seat facility, which has a futuristic design of metal and glass. The Oilers share will be $143 million. Another $125 million will come from a ticket tax that wouldnt exceed seven per cent of the total cost of a ducat. (CHED, The Canadian Press) ' ' '