Michael Phelps advances to 200m butterfly semifinals with fifth place showing

Phelps cruises on in his signature event, but saves energy after last night's dramatic 4x100 gold

By Matt Norlander

Aug 8, 2016 at 1:19 pm ET • 1 min read

The butterfly is Michael Phelps' signature discipline, and on Monday afternoon, the greatest swimmer in Olympic history moved one swim closer to becoming the first Olympian ever to make five finals in a single event.

A mere 13 hours after competing in that incredible, gold medal-winning 4x100-meter relay, Phelps swam in the prelims of 200-meter butterfly -- and qualified for Monday night's semifinals.

Phelps touched the wall in 1:55.73, good for third place in his preliminary heat and fifth overall of the 16 swimmers who made it to Monday night's semis. Phelps is the only American left in the event.

Michael Phelps advanced to the 200m butterfly semifinals. USATSI

Phelps lost in his heat to Hungary's Tamas Kenderesi (1:54.73) and Australia's Grant Irvine (1:55.64).

"I think I got to sleep at about 3 a.m. and I was on an 11 a.m. bus, so ... long couple of hours," Phelps said on NBC after his prelim heat. "But I did what I had to do this morning. A little sore after last night."

He also said his speed is still good, and that's he's been able to recover well. Phelps' gold with the relay team on Sunday night was the 19th of his career, which is the most for any athlete in Olympic history.

Here are the top 16 in 200-meter butterfly. They will swim Monday night for a chance at the final, which will get underway on Tuesday night in Rio.