Coming into the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Michael Phelps was positioned to become the most decorated Olympian of all-time, while fellow Michigan Wolverine and teammate Tyler Clary was getting ready for his first appearance in the games.
Despite this, Clary stated that he was looking forward to defeating Phelps and went as far to say that Phelps wasn't working hard and was asking to be beaten, which caused a bit of an uproar and cast the rookie in a negative light.
Once the games started, Clary sat down and apologized to Phelps and his teammates for his brash statement.
However, Clary ultimately went on to defeat Phelps in the qualifying for the men's 200-meter butterfly, finishing in second place while Phelps ended up in fifth. On Monday night, Phelps bested Clary in the semifinals of the 200-meter butterfly, setting up a showdown on Tuesday night in the finals.
Via The Baltimore Sun:
"The day after it happened I sat down with him in his room, we spoke about it and put it to rest. He understood," Clary said after his 1:54.96 finish, .74 of a second ahead of Phelps swimming a couple lanes away. "The next day I stopped the whole men's team and told them specifically, what came out is not how I feel about Michael or anyone, and I apologize for any distraction I may have caused."
Phelps won a silver medal on Sunday night as part of the U.S. Men's 400-meter freestyle relay team.
Keep up with the medal count at Sports Illustrated.
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