Michael Phelps wins gold in 200-meter butterfly

Michael Phelps won gold in the men’s 200-meter butterfly event in Rio on Tuesday night.

Michael Phelps won gold in the men’s 200-meter butterfly event in Rio on Tuesday night.

Phelps swam the 200-meter race in 1:53.36, narrowly winning the race over Masato Sakai, who swam in 1:53.4

Phelp also beat his rival, South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, who finished in fourth place.

Le Clos, once Phelps’s friend, said the American had “been talking a lot of smack in the media about how slow the butterfly is,” back in 2015. He doubled down on the criticism last year.

The medal is the 24th of Phelps’s career, and the 20th gold. In his fifth Olympic games, Phelps now has two medals, picking up gold in the men’s 4x100 meter freestyle relay on Monday.

He swims again on Tuesday night, in the men’s 4x200 meter freestyle relay.