That Michael Phelps 'Death Stare'
In a show of pre-race psychological warfare, a stare-down between bitter swimming rivals Chad le Clos and Michael Phelps was caught on camera and has led to a plethora of comedic social media posts and parodies.
In the holding room for the 200 metre butterfly semi-final on Monday night (early morning SA time Tuesday) Chad le Clos and bitter rival Michael Phelps engaged in psychological warfare even before they had hit the swimming pool.
As part of his warm-up routine, Le Clos started shadow boxing a' la Rocky style in front of Phelps, who was seated across from him.
Suitably unimpressed, the now 21-time Olympic gold medallist, deliberately or not, stared his South African rival down.
Under his hood and with headphones on, a intensely focused Phelps stared down his rival and the exchange was caught on camera.