Ryan Lochte wins gold at London Olympics
US swimmer Ryan Lochte poses on the podium with his gold medal after winning the men’s 400-meter individual medley swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 28, 2012.
Swimmer Ryan Lochte wins the first US gold medal at the London Olympics in the men's 400-meter individual medley, with Michael Phelps finishing fourth.
Lochte finished more than four seconds ahead of Phelps (4:09.28), taking the gold in 4:05.18, according to USA Today. Brazilian Thiago Pereira is taking home the silver after finishing at 4:08.86 and third was Japan's Kosuke Hagino, taking the bronze medal just milliseconds behind Pereira at 4:08.94.
More from GlobalPost: 2012 Olympics coverage
Lochte and Phelps will swim head-to-head one more time during the London Olympics this Wednesday in the 200-meter individual medley.
The 400-meter individual medley has belonged to Lochte since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he won gold after Phelps decided not to compete in the race, reported BBC Sports. Today's victory gives Lochte his fourth Olympic gold medal.
The showdown between Lochte and Phelps was one of the most anticipated of the Games, according to the Huffington Post. But fans were lucky it happened. Phelps barely qualified for the race, coming in eighth at the preliminaries, and swam in the eighth lane today.