The 31-year-old Michael Phelps is currently aiming to take his gold medal haul at Olympic Games into the twenties, building on an already established reputation of being the greatest athlete of all time. His splashes in the pool have won him one team medal already, but as for him in an individual capacity, it is one of his facial expressions that has taken the world by storm.
Phelps is through to the 200m butterfly final, where he will be up against South African Chad le Clos, one of the only swimmers in the world who can challenge Phelps for first place. It was Le Clos who took the gold medal in the 200m butterfly event at London 2012.
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In the dressing room before the semi-finals on Monday night, as both Phelps and the 24-year-old Le Clos prepared for their semi-final race, their preparations were very different. The youngster danced and shadowboxed around, while the veteran sat in a corner, giving the deadliest possible stare as his competitor went about his antics. At one moment, it even looked like Le Clos appeared to get right in front of Phelps and taunted him with a dance. Phelps continued to sit motionless, but his face registered some change.
Phelps claimed second place in the event, and will advance to the final on Tuesday. Le Clos finished at fourth, one second behind Phelps. The ultimate winner in this contest is yet to be decided, but as can be gauged from the intensity of Phelps’ stare, there will be quite a lot at stake. Will the podium be big enough to accommodate the both of them?
How the internet reacted to Phelps’ death stare –
Asked after the race about what he was thinking about Le Clos’ antics in the dressing room, Phelps said, "Nothing, honestly. I was trying not to even look at him. He does his thing, I do my thing."
