Follow U.S. Immigration and follow U.S. Life: Michael Phelps has announced his retirement with an "Olympic record" of 22 Olympic medals, including 18 golds, ending twelve years of glorious achievements for this "American icon." Who will inherit his "Flying Fish" title? Recently, the foreign media outlet "Swimming World" published an article selecting 10 talented candidates who are expected to succeed the "Flying Fish." Regrettably, the name of China's "Flying Fish" Sun Yang is absent from the top ten successors, while the powerful U.S. swimming team occupies seven of the spots.
Topping the list is American athlete Conor Dwyer. This athlete, who won his first gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2012 London Olympics, is currently training under Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman, alongside Frenchman Yannick Agnel. The two met in the men's 200m freestyle final and the 4x200m freestyle relay final at the World Championships, with the latter winning by a narrow margin. In addition to freestyle, Dwyer is also practicing breaststroke and individual medley, and is very likely to become the most versatile swimmer in U.S. history.
Star athlete Ryan Lochte ranks second. As a formidable rival to Phelps, he has won a total of 74 medals in the Olympics, World Championships, Pan American Games, and Pan Pacific Championships, and holds world records in the short-course 100m and 400m individual medley, as well as the long-course 200m individual medley. Lochte is an enigmatic athlete; although filming reality shows takes up much of his time, when the outside world doubted him, his three gold medals at the World Championships proved everything.
South African star Chad le Clos ranks third. At the London Olympics, the young South African defeated Phelps in the men's 200m butterfly final to win the gold, and has dominated the butterfly event for a year since. He has won a total of 35 medals in the Short Course World Cup, including 24 golds. He also broke the short-course men's 200m butterfly world record in Eindhoven.
Ranking fourth is the "Iron Lady" of Hungary, Katinka Hosszú, perhaps because she has yet to win an Olympic medal. However, she has won a total of 25 medals in the World Cup and European Championships. More importantly, she has broken several new world records. At the World Cup in Eindhoven, Netherlands, she broke world records in the 100m and 200m individual medley, and just a few days later, she broke the 100m world record again. She will pose a huge threat to anyone in the future because she is becoming increasingly powerful.
French swimmer Yannick Agnel ranks fifth. We have all seen Agnel's rapid progress; it was he who represented France to snatch the gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the London Olympics. In 2013, he joined the team of Michael Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman. In the recently concluded Grand Prix, he won championships in both freestyle and butterfly events. As long as he continues to train under Bowman, he can achieve even more in the future.
The athletes ranked 6th to 10th are Missy Franklin (USA), Natalie Coughlin (USA), Katie Ledecky (USA), Anthony Ervin (USA), and Tyler Clary (USA). It can be seen that the U.S. swimming team occupies 7 spots on this list. Regrettably, although Phelps himself believes his successor is Sun Yang, his name is not on the list. "Swimming World" only mentioned in the final part of the article: "Regarding international competitors, Meilutyte and Efimova are emerging forces in breaststroke. Morozov and Australia's Magnussen cannot be underestimated, along with China's super athlete Sun Yang and Hungary's László Cseh, among others."