Michael Phelps: The aqua gladiator

A couple of years away from swimming haven't diminished Michael Phelps's appetite for a fight

"Finally, he's going to do it! Ryan Lochte is going to beat Michael Phelps in this event!"

These were the words of a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation commentator who was calling the 200m individual medley final on Thursday night. Just that Lochte was nowhere near Phelps; he finished fifth in a race that saw Phelps clinch a mind-numbing 22nd Olympic gold medal. Up in the stands, Phelps's mother, Deborah, cried just the way she had done 21 times before. Her tears encapsulated that familiar expression of disbelief.

The commentator had mistaken Phelps for Lochte. Phelps's fellow American can beat him - maybe in a parallel universe - but definitely not in an Olympic pool.
 

As the rest of the field was hopelessly chasing Phelps, the 31-year-old American was after the Leonidas of Rhodes. Leonidas won 12 gold medals across three Olympic Games - the last of which came in 152 BC. Phelps, the Baltimore Bullet, now has 13.

If his win against Chad le Clos in the 200m butterfly a couple of nights ago wasn't enough, the medley win has put him in truly august company: Phelps, along with Al Oerter and Carl Lewis, is now only the third American to win an individual event four times at the Olympic Games.

In London, four years ago, Phelps vowed to never return to the pool again. He said that he would spend his time playing golf and try returning to a more "normal life". For him, a "normal life", he didn't probably realise lay just in the pool. What makes his achievements in Rio all the more stunning is that he was out of competitive action for more than two years.

Phelps, though, likes doing the impossible. In the two freestyle relays, Phelps wasn't originally slated to start. He eventually did and powered the United States to two golds. In the 200m butterfly, László Cseh and le Clos were the clear favourites. Phelps blew them away too. In fact, the two failed to finish on the podium.

His haul of 22 golds can become 23 when he takes the pool in the 100m butterfly over the weekend. Thankfully for that Canadian commentator, there will be no more Phelps-Lochte duels again.