Michael Phelps swam his way to victory for his 20th Olympic medal. The Olympics swimmer earned gold in the 200-Meter Individual Medley for the third time.

Phelps now holds a record for being the first male swimmer to win the same Olympics event three times in a row. He clocked in at 1 minute, 54.27, beating Ryan Lochte who came in third.

"I personally love this race because it puts all four strokes on display, while also taking endurance into account," Eric Ball, a featured columnist on Bleacher Report expressed regarding the 200-Meter Individual Medley swimming event.

"It's one of the true ways to gauge the proficiency of a swimmer's versatility."

Phelps now advances his record with 20 total medals and 16 gold medals. 

Lochte has had a difficult time of late. His team was in the gold medal position in the 4x100 Free Relay when he started the final leg, but he was caught swimming anchor leaving his teammates disappointed to miss out on the gold. Following that he only finished fourth in the 200 Free, missing out on another medal. 

Lochte said, "I did my best. I guess sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I gave it 110 percent. There's probably some things I messed up on, but you live and learn."

Although the media has suggested a bitter rivalry between Phelps and Locthe, Lochte admits he does not count Phelps as an enemy but as a friendly competitor.

"I don't really have any enemies, so I can't really say he's my enemy," Lochte said, regarding Phelps.

"He's my competitor. Me and him have created a great rivalry, but at the same time we've created a great friendship. No matter win or lose, after the race we're still going to be friends," the swimmer continued.

Tags: 2012 london olympics swimming usa swimming michael phelps ryan lochte