The rivalry between Michael Phelps and Chad le Clos turned into a magnificent Internet meme

Michael Phelps is seeking revenge in the 200-meter butterfly in 2016. The semifinal on Monday night was supposed to be a show in the pool, but the actual excitement happened outside it. Phelps’ rival Chad le Clos decided to continue the trash talk from 2012 by shadow boxing right in front of Phelps in the pre-race room. If you remember, Chad le Clos beat Phelps at this exact event in 2012, and the rivalry has continued ever since. Needless to say, Phelps was not having any of it.

NBC caught the moment on camera, and the situation immediately turned into a meme that took over the internet.

But even after the pre-race room and out into the pool, Chad le Clos continued to stare down Phelps.

Phelps ended up finishing second in the race, beating le Clos. But in defeat le Clos continued to stare down Phelps. In Michael’s post-race interview, Phelps was asked what he was thinking about while le Clos shadowboxed in front of him. He answered, “Nothing, honestly. I was trying not to even look at him. He does his thing, I do my thing.” Clearly, none of this bothered Phelps in the slightest, and it set us up for a rematch on Tuesday night for the elusive gold medal. As for the memes, we can only hope for more of those, too.