Michael Phelps’s infant son Boomer may have already won the cuteness award at the Olympics, but Phelps himself is an early contender to take home the gold medal for memes.
On Tuesday night, the U.S. watched Phelps compete in the 200-meter butterfly semifinals, which he finished in second place, qualifying him for the finals. But the internet was much more interested in what Phelps did prior to the race.
Since most of us don’t regularly watch swimming heats, or see what it’s like in warmup rooms outside of the Olympics, watching Phelps in serious beast mode as he sat listening intently, angrily even, to his headphones may have been a bit of a shock. And it stood in vast contrast to South Africa’s Chad le Clos, Phelps’s main rival in the 200-meter, who performed something like a pre-swim boxing match.
.@MichaelPhelps is not impressed with Chad le Clos's antics.
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 9, 2016
For more swimming coverage: https://t.co/Bpy94WsMrM https://t.co/ylAYZgHm1h
It didn’t take long until #PhelpsFace was born and Phelps was an instant meme. He was the ultimate angry face, and there was no irritation online that wouldn’t be made better with Phelps. The Associated Press called it the “Crying Jordan of the Rio Games,” but we’re not so sure that Phelps will replace the ultimate meme of defeat.
#PhelpsFace in prisma looks like a Disney villain. pic.twitter.com/lrr3SkcSTw
— Jon Perri (@_jonperri) August 9, 2016
when you gotta win gold at 3 but take over the galaxy at 4 #PhelpsFace pic.twitter.com/HQHlgLqUUo
— Ello Raymond (@elloelloraymond) August 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/ldwin/status/762851986756608001
https://twitter.com/TVMcGee/status/762860818429992965
https://twitter.com/sharpstick5/status/762836056681041921
When they don't air Men's Gymnastics finals after announcing that they would #PhelpsFace pic.twitter.com/OySbE4Sz9G
— Mo Rocca (@MoRocca) August 9, 2016
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm spaghetti #phelpsface pic.twitter.com/eyYDGAYJjv
— Above Average (@AboveAverage) August 9, 2016
Michael Phelps is not going to let the sirens lure him out of his ship pic.twitter.com/qR5BXZmUVB
— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) August 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/DanaSchwartzzz/status/762838655715074050
https://twitter.com/zpm/status/762839569557368833
As much as Phelps looked like he was giving le Clos a death stare, he said he wasn’t even watching or paying attention to him.
“Nothing, honestly,” Phelps said. “I was trying not to even look at him. He does his thing, I do my thing.”
For now. But just wait until the 200-meter butterfly final tonight.