Update - August 11, 2016 - 10:15 p.m. ET: Michael Phelps wins the 200-meter individual medley race (1:54.66) and beats out rival Ryan Lochte. That makes it 22 gold medals for Phelps throughout his Olympic career. Japan's Kosuke Hagino finished 2nd (1:56.61) and Wang Shun from China finished 3rd (1:57.05). Lochte finished 5th (1:57.47).

"Honestly, I think we've both just grown up," Phelps recently remarked, reflecting on his rivalry with Lochte. "I do feel like I talk to him more and joke around with him more than I really did in the past."

Phelps is on record with purported plans to retire and says he's fully committed to going out with a bang even more explosive than what he's shown himself capable of in previous games. According to a former coach, however, with Lochte going up against Phelps on Thursday the rumored rivalry is likely only to positively impact each of the two high-profile swimming stars repping Team USA.

"The competitive environment between those two guys has always been good," said Gregg Troy, who coached both swimmers at the 2012 Olympics. "Even at their own testament, they both say they bring out the best in each other."

Sponsoring Drama

In the midst of his dogged pursuit for history, the 31-year-old Phelps recently had to deal with added distraction of having to place a piece of tape over the logo of his Beats headphones due to sponsorship issues in connection with the Olympics.

This mini-drama is due to the fact that Olympic game officials have reportedly made it a point during this year's games of going after companies they suspect of engaging in what's known as "ambush marketing."

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