Skip to main content
Come Fan with UsThursday, July 2, 2026

Olympic swimming results 2016: Michael Phelps wins gold in men’s 200m individual medley

Phelps won one of swimming’s most anticipated events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Phelps won gold in the 200 meter men’s individual medley on Thursday night, dominating the field and teammate Ryan Lochte for the win.

Lochte led after 100m, but he was only .01 seconds ahead of Phelps and Brazil’s Thiago Pereira. Then, Phelps turned on the afterburners. The decorated American put the rest of his competitors in his wake and cruised to a dominant first place finish in 1:54.66. Japanese swimmer Kosuke Hagino, who won the 400m IM event earlier this week, took home the silver medal but was nearly two full seconds behind. China’s Wang Shun finished third, while Lochte had to settle for fifth.

The gold was his fourth straight gold in Rio de Janeiro and 22nd overall. He’s the first swimmer in Olympic history to win his first four events in the pool at a single Games.

The event earned top billing on Thursday night thanks to what promises to be the final Olympic showdown between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. The 200m IM was the only event in the 2016 Games where the two competed against each other, but their Olympic history is long and storied. Phelps edged out Lochte for gold in 2012 and 2004. Phelps was the champion once more in 2008, but Lochte was relegated to third place behind Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh.

Despite Phelps’ litany of gold, Lochte has something the most decorated modern Olympian could not claim; he holds the world record in the event at 1:54.00. He was also the 2015 World Champion, though Phelps did not compete at last year’s event due to a suspension stemming from his second drunk driving arrest. Fellow finalists Thiago Pereira of Brazil and Wang Shun of China took home second and third place at that event.

Mens 200m IM
Place Swimmer Country Time
1 Michael Phelps USA 1:54.66
2 Kosuke Hagino JPN 1:56.61
3 Wang Shun CHN 1:57.05
4 Hiromasa Fujimori JPN 1:57.21
5 Ryan Lochte USA 1:57.47
6 Philip Heintz GER 1:57.48
7 Thiago Pereira BRA 1:58.02
8 Daniel Wallace GBR 1:58.54
See More:

More in General

GeneralFromPosting and Toasting
An SB Nation New Yorker needs our helpAn SB Nation New Yorker needs our help
GeneralFromPosting and Toasting
General
Sabastian Sawe breaks 2-hour barrier, shatters marathon world recordSabastian Sawe breaks 2-hour barrier, shatters marathon world record
General

The mythical two-hour mark was broken at the London Marathon.

By Bernd Buchmasser
A Huge Dog
THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 1THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 1
Play
General
Super Bowl 60 coin toss resultsSuper Bowl 60 coin toss results
General

The Seahawks and Patriots will open the Super Bowl with the coin toss to determine who starts with the ball. We have the full coin toss results for Super Bowl 60.

By David Fucillo
General
Marc Marquez completes a comeback for the agesMarc Marquez completes a comeback for the ages
General

MotoGP’s Marc Marquez completed a comeback for the ages with his 2025 title

By Mark Schofield
General
How to make sure SBNation.com appears in your Google search resultsHow to make sure SBNation.com appears in your Google search results