Michael Phelps just barely missed winning gold in his signature event, the 200 meter butterfly, as Chad Le Clos chased Phelps down and out-touched him at the end of the pool.
Le Clos was able to beat Phelps because his last few strokes were perfectly timed to give him the most forward momentum heading into the wall. Phelps was caught in between strokes in the final stretch, and lost precious time that cost him a gold medal.
With under 75 meters remaining, Phelps had a solid lead over Le Clos, as you can see here.
Even with just a few meters remaining, you can see Phelps in lane 6 is clearly ahead of Le Clos in Lane 5. Phelps, however, is taking his last stroke.
Phelps dives forward to stretch for the wall, but Le Clos in lane 5 has time for one more full stroke.
With a better timed stroke, Le Clos thrusts himself toward the wall, while Phelps is losing speed.
End result: a stunning silver medal for Phelps.
Phelps' close swim was nearly identical to his dramatic triumph over Milorad Cavic in the 100 meter butterfly at the 2008 Olympic Games, and shows just how thin the margins are between a win and a loss.
Phelps in lane 5, and Cavic in lane 4 are neck and neck with a few meters remaining.
Cavic takes his last stroke here, with Phelps a few feet behind.
As Cavic stretches for the wall, Phelps sneaks in one last stroke, and finishes one one-hundredth of a second ahead of Cavic.
He couldn't believe it.
You can see the full race below:
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