Who beat Phelps for 2012 Olympic 200 m butterfly gold?

Chad le Clos beat Michael Phelps for the 2012 Olympic men’s 200-metre butterfly gold medal. The South African won in 1:52.96, touching the wall just 0.05 seconds ahead of Phelps, who finished in 1:53.01.

The result was one of the biggest surprises of the London Games. Phelps had won the event at both Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 and was attempting to become the first swimmer to win the same individual Olympic event three times in a row. Le Clos, then 20, produced a dramatic late charge after trailing Phelps at the final turn.

Le Clos’s victory was especially notable because he had described Phelps as his sporting hero. The win gave South Africa a major swimming breakthrough and established Le Clos as one of the sport’s leading butterfly specialists.

Phelps recovered later in the Games, winning the 100-metre butterfly and 200-metre individual medley. Le Clos also earned silver behind Phelps in the 100-metre butterfly, creating a memorable reversal between the two swimmers only days after their first Olympic showdown.