RIO DE JANEIRO -- Michael Phelps goes for history -- again -- and Katie Ledecky is set up to make some of her own in the Olympic pool.Phelps will be doing double duty Thursday night. Hell swim the 200-meter individual medley final in pursuit of a record fourth consecutive title in the event and return about 30 minutes later for the 100 butterfly semifinals.No swimmer has ever won four golds in the same individual event in consecutive Olympics. Only two athletes, discus thrower Al Oerter and long jumper Carl Lewis, ever have managed the feat.Phelps qualified fourth fastest in 51.60 seconds for the 100 fly. If he gets through to Fridays final, hell also be seeking his fourth gold in a row in that event.Winner of three golds already in Rio, Phelps duels longtime friend and rival Ryan Lochte in the 200 IM. Phelps made a tactical error, though, in the 100 fly heats. He was aiming to get into the second semifinal, which would have given him some extra recovery time after the 200 IM final.But I screwed up, he said. I try not to even think about it because then I get focused on that. But Id like to have those extra seven, eight minutes in between.By competing in the first semi, Phelps has less time to warm down after the 200 IM.Obviously, the first one (200 IM), I need to take care of business, he said. Whatever I can do in the second one (100 fly) just to make it through is what Ill do.Joseph Schooling of Singapore topped the 100 fly heats in 51.41. Hungarys Laszlo Cseh was second quickest in 51.52, while American Tom Shields was third at 51.58. Also advancing were Chad le Clos of South Africa, James Guy of Britain and Santo Condorelli of Canada.Ledecky easily qualified first in the 800 freestyle, with an Olympic-record time of 8 minutes, 12.86 seconds. The 19-year-old American was nearly seven seconds faster than anyone else.If she wins the final on Friday, Ledecky will become the first swimmer since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to sweep the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles.I try not to think too much about the history of anything, said Ledecky, who didnt get to bed until after 3 a.m. after anchoring the U.S. women to victory in the 4x200 free relay on Wednesday. Its all just about doing my best every time.Boglarka Kapas of Hungary qualified second for the 800 free in 8:19.43. Others making the final were Jazz Carlin of Britain, American Leah Smith, Lotte Friis of Denmark and Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain, who won the 200 butterfly on Wednesday.Andriy Hovorov of Ukraine was the fastest qualifier in the mens 50 free at 21.72. Two years ago, Russia annexed his home of Crimea and he rejected changing nationality. Helped by funding from Ukraines meager sports budget, Hovorov is in position to win swimmings glamour event.This has all been in my training plan since January, and I qualified with the top result, Hovorov said. Im going to keep it up.A pair of Americans, Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin, had the second and third best times in the heats. Adrian, bronze medalist in the 100 free on Wednesday, touched in 21.61. Ervin, the 2000 Olympic champion in the 50, was clocked in 21.63.Also advancing to the semis were defending champion Florent Manaudou of France, Cameron McEvoy of Australia, Vladimir Morozov of Russia, Santo Condorelli of Canada and Bruno Fratus of Brazil.The Iron Lady is chasing her fourth gold medal.Katinka Hosszu of Hungary qualified fastest for the 200 backstroke in 2:06.09. She already has won the 100 back, along with the 200 and 400 individual medleys.Hilary Caldwell of Canada had the second quickest time of 2:07.40. Maya DiRado of the United States, who has won gold, silver and bronze at her first Olympics, was third fastest in 2:08.60.Defending champion Missy Franklin advanced to the semifinals with the 11th-fastest time of 2:09.36. She missed the 200 free final in her only other individual event in Rio.Right now, Im taking it one race at a time, said Franklin, who is struggling to understand her puzzling lack of form this year. My goal is going to be making it into the finals.Franklin earned a gold medal as part of the 4x200 freestyle relay in Rio after swimming in the preliminaries.Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, a two-time Olympic champion in the 200 back, qualified ninth.Fake Astros Jerseys .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. Cesar Cedeno Astros Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. https://www.cheapastros.com/2213o-zack-greinke-jersey-astros.html . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Chris Devenski Astros Jersey . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Roger Clemens Astros Jersey . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. GAP, France -- Hurtling too fast for comfort down a twisty, turning foothill of the Alps, Tour de France leader Chris Froome faced a high-speed choice between risk and reward. The Briton knew that 10 years previously almost day for day on exactly the same descent, Joseba Beloki shattered his leg, elbow and wrist bones rounding a corner too fast and Lance Armstrong plowed into a field to avoid the prone Spaniard howling in pain. So Froome wanted to go easy. Trouble is, Alberto Contador didnt. Against his better instincts, Froome chased after his Spanish rival who rode hell for leather on the treacherous downhill with asphalt made gooey and slippery by the July heat. Just like Armstrong, flirting with disaster nearly cost Froome the Tour. Contador crashed as he rounded a right-hand corner, forcing Froome to swerve around him off the road, onto the grass and to put a foot down to stay upright. Unlike Contador, who bloodied his right knee, Froome escaped with just a fright. Still, this drama on Tuesdays Stage 16 proved a point that Froome and his Sky team have made time and again: despite his big lead, Froome wont savour victory until hes on the cobbles of the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday. "One second you could be going for the finish and about to win a race and the next youre lying in a ditch somewhere, with a broken bone," Froome said. "I knew it was the descent where Beloki crashed so I was purposefully laying off a little bit and trying to take it easy but at the same time also trying to keep touch with the Saxobank guys who were really pushing the limits." By that, Froome meant Contador and his Saxo-Tinkoff teammate from the Czech Republic, Roman Kreuziger, who are third and fourth in the overall standings but more than four minutes off the lead. Opportunities for them to claw back time are fast running out. The finish line in Paris is now just 668 kilometres (415 miles) and five days away. To their credit, they arent simply accepting defeat but are harassing Froome all the way. If Froome wins, the way his rivals have repeatedly tested the British rider over the three weeks should give him the extra satisfaction of a victory hard-earned. Stage 16 wound from Provence past vineyards, lavender fields and villages clinging to hillsides to the town of Gap, a staging post for what promises to be a grand finale in the Alps for the 100th Tour. For a long while, it seemed that the 168-kilometre (104-mile) trek to Gap from Vaison-la-Romaine, a charming town with old ruins near the Mont Ventoux where Froome won on Sunday, would be one of those Tour stages that dont amount to much. Apparently keeping their powder dry for the Alps, Froome and other main protagonissts allowed 26 riders -- none of them a podium threat -- to escape far ahead.ddddddddddddThe stage winner, Rui Costa, later emerged from that group, riding away on the days last climb, a 9.5-kilometre (6-mile) long ascent to Col de Manse, and then zipping down to Gap. Although the Manse climb is less arduous and less steep than the Ventoux, where Froome blasted past Contador, the Spaniard and Kreuziger used to it test the Briton and his Australian wingman, Richie Porte. Several times, Contador tried accelerating away. Kreuziger did, too. But Porte and then Froome alone wouldnt let them get away. To cool the asphalt, authorities doused the top of the climb with water. But Porte said the road down from there was sticky and slippery -- just as it was in the heat wave of 2003, when Belokis back wheel slid away from him on a bend, hurling him to the ground. Armstrong went on to win that Tour -- only to have that and all six of his other victories in cyclings premier race stripped from him last year for doping. On Tuesday, touching their brakes caused wheels to slip, Porte said. "All of us had a bit of a moment coming down there, losing the front wheel, back wheel," he said. Yet Contador was flying, with Froome in his wake. Rounding a sharp right-hander, "the bike got away from me," Contador said. "It was really difficult. In normal conditions I wouldnt have slipped like that, but it was very difficult terrain," said the 2007 and 09 champion, who was stripped of his 10 title for a failed doping test. "Sometimes you have to go for it, whether its at the start or the end of a stage." Froome said Contador "was taking too many risks." "All teams are starting to get desperate now and theyre taking uncalculated risks," he said. "In my opinion it was a bit dangerous from Alberto to ride like that, its not good." Worryingly for Froome, theres worse to come. Thursdays Stage 18 not only includes a double ascent to the ski station of Alpe dHuez, with its 21 hairpin bends, but also a harrowing descent that several riders have voiced concerns about. Having seen that Froome wasnt completely comfortable chasing after Contador on Tuesday, the risk now is that his rivals could try to unsettle him again on Thursdays downhill from Col de Sarenne. "It is a very dangerous descent. The road surface is not great," Froome said. "And there arent any barriers on the corners, so if you go over the corner then you will fall down a long way. Its a dangerous descent and I hope the riders are aware of that, that they dont take risks like they did today." ------ AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire contributed. ' ' '