The stage was set for Americans Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte to go head to head in the 200M IM at the aquatic center at the 2012 London Olympic games. But with a rested Phelps on the blocks while Lochte was still wet from the 200M backstroke final only minutes before, it was Phelps who claimed the gold medal, beating Lochte by .63 seconds.

Phelps finished in 1:54.27, while Lochte's 1:54.90 was good enough for another silver. Laszio Cseh of Hungary would claim the bronze medal, finishing well behind the frontrunners with a time of 1:56.22.

This marks Phelps' 16th career gold medal, 20th medal overall, but is his first individual gold of the London games. Phelps is also the first Olympian to ever have a three-peat in the 200M IM, winning in Sydney in 2000, Beijing in 2008, and now in London in 2012.

You can check out SI's complete medal tracker here.

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