Le Clos finished 4th in the 200 metre butterfly in which he was the defending champion, in a race he called the worst of his career, as he was second behind Phelps for much of the race before fading in the closing meters. The event was heavily hyped as a rematch between Le Clos and Michael Phelps, the 2004 and 2008 winner whom Le Clos had narrowly beaten in 2012. The relationship between Le Clos and Phelps had been cordial in 2012–2013 but it deteriorated in 2014 when Phelps came back from retirement. In the ready room prior to the preliminary race, Le Clos' shadow boxing while Phelps "glowered in a corner" spawned the Internet meme with the hashtag #PhelpsFace. Le Clos' Wikipedia biography was even vandalized repeatedly.