There’s a reason Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian of all time.
While we always thought it was a combination of God-given ability and extreme dedication, the 19-time gold medalist revealed there could be other factors at work.
Such as The Dark Side of The Force. Observe.
Talk about motor overload.
Phelps was so incredibly focused, he seemingly embraced The Dark Side while his South African rival, Chad le Clos, shadow boxed in front of him. It made for quite a scene in which Phelps looked angry with le Clos before their semifinal race to reach the final of the 200M butterfly, Phelps’ signature event. Le Clos just out-touched Phelps for the gold medal in the event in 2012.
The two raced side-by-side in the semifinal, with Phelps (1:54.12) finishing second but beating le Clos (1:55.19).
But it was the scene from the ready room that everyone was focused on. The Internet, of course, had a blast with it, even starting the hashtag #PhelpsFace on Twitter.
And our personal favorite.
For what it’s worth, Phelps says he didn’t even notice le Clos but wasn’t concerned with his antics.
Tuesday’s final is going to be one amazing race.
