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The most decorated Olympic athlete, Michael Phelps, last night won his 20th Olympic Gold medal as the American finished ahead of rival and defending champion, Chad le Clos, to win the 200m butterfly.
And it didn’t stop there as Phelps added his 21st Gold to that list as the 31 year old helped the US win the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.
In London 2012, it was le Clos that beat Phelps in the same event in what was supposed to be the American’s farewell to the sport after announcing his retirement prior to the games, but Phelps then came out of retirement in 2014 and wanted revenge on the South African swimmer here in Rio.
Speaking after his win in Brazil, Phelps said; “I wanted that one back. I came into the pool tonight with a mission and the mission was accomplished.”
He romped to a comprehensive victory with a time of one minute 53.36 seconds, with le Clos eventually finishing in a disappointing fourth.
Japan’s Masato Sakai and Hungary’s Tamas Kenderesi overtook the South African in the final 50 metres to take the silver and bronze medals respectively.
“That being my very first Olympic event, to be able to win it in my fifth Olympics is pretty special,” said Phelps.
“There wasn’t a shot in hell I was losing that tonight. And, if I did, every ounce that I had was left in the pool.”
Phelps and le Clos will meet again in another latest instalment of their duel when they compete in the 100m butterfly later this week.
The American will also be trying to add to his gold tally when he goes in the 4x100m medley relay and 200m individual medley, also later this week.
“Looking forward to the rest of the week and I’m not even halfway done yet,” he said.
Phelps returned to the after his individual triumph to compete in the relay with USA team mates Conor Dwyer, Francis Haas and Ryan Lochte.
The defending Olympic champions lost to Britain at the 2015 World Championships, but led from the early stages to win by 2.47 seconds and retain their crown.
British quartet Stephen Milne, Duncan Scott, Dan Wallace and James Guy won the silver in the relay, finishing behind Phelps who claimed a historic 21st gold medal at the Olympics.
