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

Chad le Clos learned the hard way not to trash talk Michael Phelps. The South African didn’t just lose to Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly finals on Tuesday; he didn’t even medal.

Phelps reigned supreme in one of the most anticipated swimming finals of the 2016 Summer Olympics, claiming his 20th gold medal and defeating rivals le Clos and Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh with a time of 1:53.36. Japan’s Sakai finished just behind him in second with a time of 1:53.40, while Hungarian Tamas Kenderesi found a place on the podium in third place.

Cseh took a brief lead at the first turn, but Phelps came back strong to take a near half-second lead after 100 meters. He extended that lead with one lap to go, but le Clos began to close the distance in the anchor lap -- staring at Phelps all the way -- only to fade as Sakai bullied his way to the front of challengers.

The real competition in this event started four years prior when le Clos touched the wall in the 200m butterfly .05 seconds ahead of the prolific American. The two remained cordial in the following years, but Phelps’ retirement and subsequent return to international competition in 2014 ruffled some feathers.

Phelps may not have been at the 2015 World Championships -- a DUI led to his suspension from the event -- but he was still in the minds of le Clos and Cseh. The South African fired the loudest shots. “Michael Phelps has been talking about how slow the butterfly events have been recently,” he said. “I just did a time he hasn’t done in four years. So, he can keep quiet now.”

Cseh was more measured in his criticism. When asked about Phelps’ swim at the U.S. Championship last year, he responded “it’s quite good, but it doesn’t matter because I won the World Championship.”

That rivalry led to the Games’ most memorable meme to date; an epic stinkface showdown in the ready room before the 200m butterfly semifinals.