Michael Phelps races in the 200 meter butterfly at the 2016 Olympics
BY A FINGERTIP Michael Phelps stepped to the starting platform in Rio de Janeiro Brazil Some of swimming's biggest stars lined up alongside him They prepared to race for the 2016 Olympic gold medal in the 200 meter butterfly Phelps dove into lane five He was immediately behind leader Laszlo Cseh of Hungary at the first turn That is when Phelps turned it on
By the second turn Phelps had taken a 43 second lead That grew to 67 seconds at the third and final turn But the other swimmers were not done yet They raced to catch Phelps during the final 50 meters Japan's Masato Sakai had nearly caught Phelps as they neared the finish Both swimmers took one last stroke and reached for the wall Phelps got there first But barely It was the closest finish in the men's 200 butterfly in Olympic history Phelps at age 31 had proven once again why he is the best swimmer of all time Phelps surges into the lead in the 200 butterfly
Cles rena FAST FACT Phelps had extra motivation to win the 200 butterfly He had claimed the Olympic gold medal in the event in 2004 and 2008 But in 2012 he finished second
