Looking at Michael Phelps‘ illustrious career, one can easily see the Baltimore Bullet‘s dominance. Phelps added multiple medals to his massive collection every time he swam in the Olympics. However, taking a closer look at the 23-time gold medalist’s career, one can see the Olympic legend shared some memorable rivalries.

When one thinks about the rivals of the Olympic swimming legend, Ryan Lochte comes to mind. However, leading up to the 2016 Olympics, South African swimmer Chad le Clos rose as one of the chief rivals of the 28-time Olympic medalist. By the time the 2016 Rio Olympics began, the rivalry between le Clos and Phelps had reached its boiling point. It became so intense that even le Clos’ father joined the trash talk.

When Chad le Clos’ father dismissed Michael Phelps

The Michael Phelps-Chad le Clos rivalry began in 2012 at the London Olympics. The South African swimmer beat the Flying Fish by five-hundredths of a second. However, the rivalry became heated after Michael Phelps announced his comeback in 2014. The defending champion took a jab at Phelps when the 23-time gold medalist said other swimmers weren’t that fast in April 2014.

“Michael Phelps has been talking about how slow the butterfly events have been recently. I just did a time he hasn’t done in four years.” Le Clos said after winning the 2015 World Championships. However, the Baltimore Bullet beat his time at the 2015 US National Championships. They set the stage for an ultimate clash between the rivals at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

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However, the back and forth continued leading up to the Olympics. Even Le Clos’ father joined in. “However fast Michael goes, we go faster. I don’t care about his times,” the defending champion’s father told Associated Press. The 200m butterfly race between the rivals became even more hyped when ready-room footage of Phelps glowering in a corner, while le Clos shadow-boxed, surfaced.

The conclusion of the hyped rivalry

The Phelps-le Clos rivalry came to a disappointing end at the 200m butterfly event. Phelps and le Clos won the joint silver medal in the 100m butterfly, finishing behind Joseph Schooling. However, the 200m butterfly battle between the American and the South African disappointed fans. Le Clos was the defending champion, but he couldn’t live up to expectations.

Phelps won the 200m butterfly event, avenging his 2012 defeat to le Clos. However, the South African finished fourth. The defending champion had a good start and kept up with Phelps. However, le Clos began fading and slipped into fourth place in the later part of the race. The Olympic gold medalist called it the worst performance of his life.

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Who do you think was Michael Phelps’ biggest rival? Write your thoughts in the comments.