RIO DE JANEIRO — When Michael Phelps decided to come out of retirement, he circled one race in particular on the Olympic schedule.
The 200-meter butterfly.
Most popular sports stories
At the London Games, in what was supposed to be his Olympic farewell, Phelps was leading as he came to the wall in the stroke he does better than anyone.
But he mistimed the finish, glided a little too long, and was edged by Chad le Clos.
That result has irked Phelps ever since, and he got his redemption Tuesday night as he edged out the South African and won his 20th gold medal and 24th overall in 1:53.36.
Phelps wagged his finger at le Clos after retaking gold in the event he’d won in 2004 and 2008.
“Of course there’s a huge rivalry between Michael and myself,” Le Clos said before finishing fourth in 1:54.06. “I race to win and I want to beat Michael.”
Television cameras caught Phelps with a serious game face before the semifinal swim as he stared in the direction of Le Clos, a moment Twitter users immediately flipped into memes poking fun at Phelps’ intensity.
Phelps will have another chance at gold later Tuesday. He will anchor the 4x200 freestyle relay, a race the Americans have won at the last three Olympics.
-With Newsday.com
..... - Newsday