Afterwards, NBC’s Michele Tafoya asked Phelps what he was thinking as he glared at Le Clos.
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“Every time we see something like this happen in the media, it piques people’s attention”, said MacLean. But it looked like he was watching rival South African swimmer Chad le Clos, who beat Phelps in the 200-meter butterfly in 2012, dancing and shadow boxing in front of him.
In fact, the hashtag #PhelpsFace continues to trend on Twitter Tuesday.
During the heats, video of Phelps and le Clos awaiting their races went viral. But things weren’t always so tense between the two swimming stars – in fact, they once seemed destined for a handsome bromance. But with Phelps and Lochte, over the last 16 years or so, everyone has paid attention to their greatness in the pool.
Even so, the two amphibious bros seemed cool – cordial, even. After the 2012 London Olympics, Phelps was reported to making $12 million annually through sponsorships and endorsements.
Shark-cage diving? Bro! Sick!
Le Clos is ready, too.
“The rivalry (with Phelps) is great for the sport”, Le Clos’ coach Graham Hill said. “It’s not a joke”. “I swim for not only my country, my coach and my teammates but I swim for my family as well”. That fall, le Clos told the website Sport360 he felt his quotes had been taken out of context. He seeks more redemption Tuesday night as he tries to reclaim the lone individual gold medal that got away from him in London – the 200m butterfly. He said the same Monday night. In 2010, he was dropped from the Dutch team for the Gymnastics World Championships after he admitted using cocaine.
Now over a decade ago, Phelps was first arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in 2004. Le Clos put out a statement this summer that doctors found a tumor in his father’s prostate that required surgery and his mother had to undergo a double mastectomy after a second bout with breast cancer. Then he ran his mouth.
Ledecky goes first in the 200 meter freestyle Tuesday night, and 10 minutes later Phelps has his sights set on the 200 meter butterfly, the event in which he holds the world and Olympic records. “I just did a time he hasn’t done in four years. So he can keep quiet now”.
The Brazilian women play South Africa at 11 p.m. and the host nation’s fans have become enamored of their team as the men disappoint. But he did get this smug shot in six weeks before the 2016 Games.
USA’s Michael Phelps competes in a Men’s 200m Butterfly heat during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 8, 2016.
“Like I’ve said it before I have a lot of respect for him previous year there was definitely spoken words when he had nationals and I had world champs a lot of it was misquoted”.
In Sydney, the Maryland-native not only became the youngest man to make made the United States Olympic swim team since 1968 at the age of 15, but he would make the final in his only event, the 200-meter butterfly.
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Grab your popcorn – it’s time to settle this bitter bromantic breakup once and for all.
