Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre butterfly

As the most decorated Olympian of all-time, Michael Phelps got the opportunity to avenge the distance butterfly title that he lost in London four years earlier, when South Africa's Chad le Clos beat him to the wall.{{cite news|title=Michael Phelps gets 20th gold medal of career at Rio Olympics|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-phelps-gets-20th-gold-medal-of-career-at-rio-olympics/|publisher=CBS News|date=10 August 2016|access-date=28 August 2016}} Moving to the front at the halfway turn, Phelps held off the Japanese challenger Masato Sakai by a 0.04-second margin to claim his twentieth Olympic gold medal and twenty-fifth overall in 1:53.36.{{cite news|first=Nicole|last=Auerbach|title=Michael Phelps wins gold in 200 fly, adds to record medal tally|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/09/michael-phelps-swimming-mens-200m-butterfly-final-result/88494948/|publisher=USA Today|date=10 August 2016|access-date=28 August 2016}}{{cite news|title=Michael Phelps wins 200 butterfly, helps 4x200 free relay team to gold|url=http://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/_/id/17259722/2016-rio-olympics-michael-phelps-wins-gold-200-meter-butterfly-final|publisher=ESPN|date=10 August 2016|access-date=28 August 2016}}{{cite news|title=Phelps avenges 2012 defeat in 200m butterfly|url=https://www.foxnews.com/sports/phelps-avenges-2012-defeat-in-200m-butterfly|work=Fox Sports|location=United States|date=10 August 2016|access-date=29 August 2016}} Coming from sixth at the 150-metre turn, Sakai made a late surge on the final length to nearly upset Phelps towards a close finish, but he ended up taking the silver in 1:53.40.{{cite news|first=Andrew|last=McKirdy|title=Sakai takes silver in 200 butterfly; Phelps claims 20th, 21st gold medals of career|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2016/08/10/olympics/summer-olympics/sakai-takes-silver-phelps-wins-200-butterfly-20th-olympic-gold|publisher=The Japan Times|date=10 August 2016|access-date=29 August 2016}} Meanwhile, Hungary's top seed and 2014 Youth Olympic champion Tamás Kenderesi powered home with a bronze in 1:53.62.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/10/sports/olympics/michael-phelps-200-butterfly-lochte-relay.html|title=Message Sent: 21 and Counting for Michael Phelps|work=The New York Times|date=10 August 2016|access-date=29 August 2016}}{{cite news|title=Michael Phelps Secures 20th Olympic Gold By Only .04 in 200 Butterfly|url=https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/michael-phelps-secures-20th-olympic-gold-by-only-03-in-200-butterfly/|publisher=Swimming World Magazine|date=10 August 2016|access-date=29 August 2016}}

Le Clos did not produce another striking effort to halt the most decorated Olympian from snatching the title, as he was shut out of the medals to fourth in 1:54.06.{{cite news|title=Chad le Clos finished with 200m fly?|url=http://www.sport24.co.za/OtherSport/Olympics2016/chad-le-clos-finished-with-200m-fly-20160810|publisher=News24|date=10 August 2016|access-date=29 August 2016}} Sakai's teammate Daiya Seto finished fifth in 1:54.82, with Denmark's Viktor Bromer following him to pick up the sixth spot in 1:55.64. Hungarian swimmer, 2008 Olympic silver medalist, and reigning world champion László Cseh commanded a brief lead on the initial length, but faded shortly to seventh place in 1:56.24. Belgium's Louis Croenen rounded out the field with an eighth-place time in 1:57.04.

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

{{World Olympic Record

| world_athlete = {{flagathlete|Michael Phelps|USA}}

| world_mark = 1:51.51

| world_place = Rome, Italy

| world_date = 29 July 2009

| world_ref = {{cite news|last=Crouse|first=Karen|title=Phelps Rebounds Amid Boycott Threat|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/sports/30swim.html|work=New York Times|date=30 July 2012|access-date=9 July 2013}}{{cite news|title=Phelps bounces back with 200m fly world record triumph|url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/phelps-bounces-back-with-200m-fly-world-record-triumph-20090730-e1se.html|publisher=Sydney Morning Herald|date=31 July 2012|access-date=9 July 2013}}

| olympic_athlete = {{flagIOCathlete|Michael Phelps|USA|2008 Summer}}

| olympic_mark = 1:52.03

| olympic_place = Beijing, China

| olympic_date = 13 August 2008

| olympic_ref = {{cite news|first=Larry|last=Siddons|title=Water-Filled Goggles Can't Keep Phelps From Gold Mark|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=ac18scOpOC4E&refer=home|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=13 August 2008|access-date=17 May 2013}}

}}

The competition consisted of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advanced to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.

{{Reflist}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 200 m Butterfly Men}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metre butterfly}}

Men's 00200 metre butterfly

Olympics

Category:Men's events at the 2016 Summer Olympics