‘Phelps stuffed Le Clos into a locker and stole his lunch money’

Possibly the only thing faster than Michael Phelps on Wednesday morning was the reaction of the internet trolls.

Almost before American Phelps had climbed out of the pool after claiming his 20th gold medal in Rio‚ his rival Chad le Clos’ Wikipedia page had been uncharitably edited.

Le Clos‚ the biography read‚ had “died by the hands of Michael Phelps‚ being literally blown out of the water by the greatest American since Abraham Lincoln”.

The South African swimmer missed out on the podium‚ finishing the 200m butterfly behind Japan’s Masato Sakai and Hungarian Tamás Kenderesi.

Le Clos had had the grace to congratulate Phelps after the race with a hug – a concession after his shadow-boxing in the American’s general direction before their semifinal the previous night‚ and Phelps’ death stare in return‚ went viral on social media.

Internet users weren’t as graceful‚ and new edits to Le Clos’ wiki page were made almost as soon as previous ones were deleted.

Le Clos was variously described as “Chad le Choke”‚ “Michael Phelps’ Pool Boy”‚ “Chad oh so le Clos” and simply “The guy who lost to Phelps”.

Another entry drew a curtain on Le Clos’ swimming career‚ which “came to an end during these Olympics‚ as Michael Phelps stuffed him into a locker and stole his lunch money”. – Tiso Black Star Group Digital