--- title: Michael Phelps Chad Le Clos Feud Internet Reacts description: Michael Phelps victory over Chad le Clos on Tuesday night made the Internet go wild thanks to the heated beef that has brewed between them. canonical: https://time.com/4446837/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-10T19:37:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:46:17.368Z og:title: The Internet Went Wild For Michael Phelps' Win Over Chad le Clos og:description: Consider le Clos the new Crying Jordan og:url: https://time.com/4446837/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte23cd9bb34d14a00/6988a1dd0b72e3702b6ea9b5/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Swimming - Olympics: Day 4 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Went Wild For Michael Phelps' Win Over Chad le Clos twitter:description: Consider le Clos the new Crying Jordan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte23cd9bb34d14a00/6988a1dd0b72e3702b6ea9b5/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Guide to Why the Internet Is Losing It Over Michael Phelps Beating Chad le Clos > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=3f12ffd5-b68e-42cb-b8f1-6fcd9fcbef1f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Michael Phelps Scores his 21st Gold Medal and Steals a Kiss From Boomer! [Watch (HLS stream): Michael Phelps Scores his 21st Gold Medal and Steals a Kiss From Boomer!](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gTfh7L4j.m3u8) (1:13)  _Published 2016-08-10. Michael Phelps dominates in the men’s 200-meter butterfly race_  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Aug 10, 2016 7:37 PM UTC  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Aug 10, 2016 7:37 PM UTC At the [Rio Olympics](http://time.com/4424414/rio-olympics-2016-summer-athletes/?iid=sr-link3), the swimming [pool](http://time.com/4442088/rio-2016-olympics-swimming-what-to-watch/) has been a veritable breeding ground for some [friendly (and not-so-friendly) rivalry](http://time.com/4444555/lilly-king-olympic-games-doping-ban/). Chief among the games’ drama has been the competition between [the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, Michael Phelps](http://time.com/4446040/michael-phelps-swimming-olympics-rio/), and South African swimmer Chad le Clos, which came to a head when Phelps blew le Clos out of the water to win his 20th gold medal for the 200-meter butterfly final — the same event that le Clos beat Phelps in for a gold during the 2012 games in London and, incidentally, was also the start of Phelps and le Clos’ feud, which we’ve handily outlined in chronological order below. **July 2012**: Chad le Clos beats Michael Phelps by five hundredths of a second at the 2012 London Olympic games during the 200-meter butterfly [race](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGMoYB8ORYo). After the games, Phelps announces his retirement. **April 2014**: Phelps comes out of retirement to compete in his first meet since leaving the sport; significantly, he does not compete in the 200-meter fly, [saying](http://www.sportingnews.com/other-sports/news/michael-phelps-200-meter-butterfly-2016-summer-olympics-swimming/12ahilk7obhmm1k4oom05ttwk6) that he would never enter the race again. **May 2015**: Phelps has a change of heart and competes in the 200-meter fly at the Arena Pro Series, telling reporters that the times that competitors have been clocking in the event are “[really not that fast](http://www.sportingnews.com/other-sports/news/michael-phelps-200-meter-butterfly-2016-summer-olympics-swimming/12ahilk7obhmm1k4oom05ttwk6).” **August 2015**: After winning the 100-meter fly at the 2015 FINA World Championships, Le Clos had choice words about Phelps. “Michael Phelps has been talking about how slow the butterfly events have been recently,” he [said](https://swimswam.com/chad-le-clos-phelps-can-keep-quiet-now/). “I just did a time he hasn’t done in four years. So he can keep quiet now.” Later that day, Phelps [beat le Clos’](http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/olympics/phelps/bal-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos-100-butterfly-20150808-story.html) time in the 100-meter fly at the Phillips 66 National Championships and responded to le Clos’ statements. “There are a lot of things I could say. But I won’t,” he said. “I’m going to let what I do in the pool do my talking.” Le Clos and his father, however, answer with more sports analysis; le Clos states, “I’m just very happy that he’s back to his good form, so he can’t come out and say, ‘Oh, I haven’t been training,’ or all that rubbish that he’s been talking,” while the elder le Clos told the [_AP_](http://www.foxsports.com/olympics/story/michael-phelps-100-fly-us-national-championship-san-antonio-answers-le-clos-taunts-080815) that he was confident that Chad would beat Phelps. “However fast Michael goes, we go faster. I don’t care about his times, because I know my son is going to beat him.” **November 2015**: In an interview with [_Sport 360_](http://sport360.com/article/watersports/44768/interview-chad-le-clos-explains-michael-phelps-rift-swimming-rivalry-heats), le Clos reveals that he was hurt by the rift with Phelps, but also takes the opportunity to throw shade at his opponent. “If I was as great as he was, I would conduct myself in a way children would be proud of…I thought I was good friends with him, clearly not. I don’t think he likes me very much.” **August 2016**: Phelps and le Clos meet again in Rio, where spectators are equally bemused as they are intrigued by le Clos shadow boxing and dancing before the preliminary race as [Phelps glowered in a corner, giving us the meme of the Olympic games](http://time.com/4444374/michael-phelps-rio-olympics-game-face/), heretofore referred to as #PhelpsFace. Phelps went on to beat le Clos in not only the preliminary heat, but also in the final race, which basically gave the Internet license to wild out and turn le Clos into the equivalent of the Rio games’ [Crying Jordan](http://time.com/4383734/crying-lionel-messi-meme/) treatment, from changing his Wikipedia page to zinging him with memes and hot takes on Twitter. One fan saw that the Internet was already revising history for le Clos. > [](https://twitter.com/PatBradley%5F/status/763192567332831232) Others chose to capitalize on the moment when le Clos saw that he was getting beat. > [](https://twitter.com/SheeeRatchet/status/763362543045836800) The Internet also made good use of #PhelpsFace in this moment. > [](https://twitter.com/CahnEmily/status/763186393573003264) Meanwhile, others chose to stick to the Classic Crying Jordan face for the occasion. > [](https://twitter.com/cwellis2016/status/763197600560545792) Welcome to being athletes in 2016. ## Transcript Michael Phelps scored his 21st gold medal Tuesday night at the 2016 Rio Olympics have me speechless. It was an epic rematch when the legendary swimmer competed against his South African rival, Chad le Clos, in his signature race / The men's two 200 meter butterfly. Now, Phelps had lost the same race back in 2012 during the London Olympics by five one- hundrendth of a second. A loss that has always bothered him, but now he's got nothing to worry about winning his twentieth gold medal. with a time of 1. 56. 36, four one hundredths of a second in front of the second place finisher. Now, of course the crowd went wild after Phelps locked in the big win, but no one was a bigger fan than the swimmer's family and, of course, his adorable infant son, Boomer After the national anthem concluded the gold medalist found his family all in the audience giving his son a big kiss after fiance Nicole Johnson passed him over the railing. Such an amazing and emotional moment. Now after his victory Phelps chatted with NBC saying this, there was so much emotion and so much build up to that race over the past four years I don't want to say revenge but that's kind of what it was. I wanted that race back and soon after his triumphant butterfly race Phelps went on to snag his 21st gold medal anchoring the 4 by 200 freestyle relay. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4446837/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4446837/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos/"},"headline":"A Guide to Why the Internet Is Losing It Over Michael Phelps Beating Chad le Clos","datePublished":"2016-08-10T19:37:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-06T09:46:17.368Z","description":"Consider le Clos the new Crying Jordan","url":"https://time.com/4446837/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos/","keywords":["Newsfeed","entertainment","Michael Phelps","Summer Olympics","2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics","Rio 2016 Olympics","Sports"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte23cd9bb34d14a00/6988a1dd0b72e3702b6ea9b5/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte23cd9bb34d14a00/6988a1dd0b72e3702b6ea9b5/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Swimming - Olympics: Day 4","caption":"Swimming - Olympics: Day 4","creditText":"Pascal Le Segretain—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4446837/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos/","name":"A Guide to Why the Internet Is Losing It Over Michael Phelps Beating Chad le Clos"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Michael Phelps Scores his 21st Gold Medal and Steals a Kiss From Boomer!","description":"Michael Phelps dominates in the men’s 200-meter butterfly race","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/gTfh7L4j/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-08-10T13:39:58.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gTfh7L4j.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4446837/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos/","duration":"PT1M13S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4446837/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-chad-le-clos/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```