They were most common in gymnastics under the old 10-point judging system, which also produced the only four-way tie, for men's vault silver in 1984. It seems almost impossible for three athletes to finish at the exact same time, but such three-way ties had happened 20 times before at the Olympics, according to sports historian Bill Mallon. Schooling and Phelps had met long before Rio. Video will play in Play now Don't auto playNever auto playThis will be a defining image of the Rio Olympics: Michael Phelps and two more of the world's greatest swimmers holding hands on one step of the podium. Phelps was already an Olympic legend and Schooling a teenaged super-fan at school in Singapore.

Source: New Zealand Herald August 13, 2016 05:48 UTC