The news didn't take long to cross borders.
In fact, it barely took minutes.
Before the Olympic closing ceremony had fully ended, before the applause had completely died down, the global media had already caught fire.
This was unexpected—and they were already on it.
For the press, this was not just news.
It was unmissable.
A man who started competitive swimming less than three months ago.
A man who entered the Olympics for the first time.
A man who won three gold medals—in the 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle—the three most demanding sprint events in swimming history. No one had ever done it before. This history couldn't go unreported.
And as if that wasn't enough, the same man was now credited for helping restructure a broken national swimming team into one of the most successful Olympic campaigns the country had ever recorded.
It was impossible to ignore.
By morning, every major media outlet in the world had cleared its front page.
