Who won silver behind Phelps in the 2016 Olympic 200 m butterfly final?

Masato Sakai won silver behind Michael Phelps in the 2016 Olympic men’s 200-metre butterfly final.

The race took place on 9 August 2016 at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Phelps won in 1:53.36, while Sakai finished in 1:53.40. Sakai’s result was especially dramatic because he was sixth at the 150-metre turn before producing a powerful final length.

Hungary’s Tamás Kenderesi took bronze in 1:53.62. South Africa’s Chad le Clos, who had beaten Phelps in this event at the 2012 London Olympics, finished fourth in Rio. Japan’s Daiya Seto was fifth, so the listed alternatives include both a previous rival and other finalists but not the silver medalist.

Sakai was a Japanese specialist in the 200-metre butterfly and had also finished fourth at the 2015 World Championships. His Rio silver was the defining Olympic result of his career and came within four hundredths of a second of defeating one of swimming’s greatest champions.