RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - After taking his haul of Olympic gold to an all-time record 21 medals, US legend Michael Phelps returns to the pool on Wednesday, August 10 in search of further treasure.
Majestically seizing two more golds, Phelps was the buzz of the Games on Tuesday - even more than the speculation over why the water in the Olympic diving pool turned mysteriously green overnight.
Phelps has been so dominant in these early days of the Olympics that other spectacular achievements have been put in the shade.
They include Hungary's "Iron Lady" Katinka Hosszu's third swimming gold of the week and American gymnast Simone Biles' stunning start to her bid for a record 5 Rio golds.
At 31 - the oldest individual Olympic swimming gold medalist ever - Phelps is still the master of the pool.
Late Tuesday, he beat Japan's Masato Sakai to take the 200m butterfly and then anchored the US 4x200m freestyle relay team to victory.
After claiming his 20th title in 5 Olympics - beating old rival Chad le Clos in the process - Phelps stood in the water, striking a pose like a Roman emperor, soaking up the acclaim. He then sealed his victory a kiss from his baby son, Boomer.
The 200m butterfly was his first world record in 2001 and he was determined to win back the Olympic title he lost to South Africa's Le Clos in 2012.
"That event is kind of like my bread and butter," Phelps said.
"There wasn't a shot in hell I was losing that race," he added. "And if I did, I was leaving everything in the pool."
His hunt for further excellence continues on Wednesday when 20 Olympic titles are in play.
He returns for the heats and semi-finals of the 200m individual medley. If he comes through, he will compete in Thursday's final.
In other dramatic action in the pool Tuesday, Hosszu completed the individual medley double by winning the 200m final in an Olympic best 2:06.58.
Katie Ledecky, leading the new generation of American swimming stars, captured her second gold of the Games by holding off Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom to take the women's 200m freestyle final in 1:53.73. – Rappler.com