The arrival of #PhelpsFace and other viral Olympic expressions

It was a moment that begged to be made into a meme.

U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was sitting in a chair in his warm-up clothes Monday and says he was watching the heat in the pool in front of him. But it looked like he was watching rival South African swimmer Chad le Clos, who beat Phelps in the 200-meter butterfly in 2012, dancing and shadow boxing in front of him.

And Phelps’ angry facial expression could’ve set that pool boiling.

Of course, if Phelps were glaring at le Clos, it wasn’t just because he got beat. The rival swimmer had also been trash-talking Phelps during the U.S. championships last year.

“I’m just very happy that he’s back to his good form, so he can’t come out and say, ‘Oh, I haven’t been training’ or all that rubbish that he’s been talking,” le Clos told The Associated Press. “Next year is going to be Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier.”

The internet immediately started having fun with the sour expression.

While Phelps may get the gold medal for best expression so far this year, he’s far from the only contender. Another U.S. Olympic swimmer, Lilly King, got some social media attention after she wagged her finger at Russian rival Yulia Efimova, who had been disqualified from the Olympics for doping but was reinstated without explanation.

King said Efimova had wagged her finger at King in the ready room before the semifinal, and then King beat Efimova’s time and claimed the top seed position for the finals.

Another meme that emerged from the 2016 Olympics wasn’t from an athlete, but the parents of one. The parents of U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman shifted and twisted with every second of Raisman’s uneven bar performance. At one point her mother covered her face, seemingly unable to watch.

The gold medal for best facial expression in the 2012 Olympics probably goes to McKayla Maroney, who was feeling pretty sour when she got the silver medal for the vault final after an uncharacteristic fall. She didn’t hide her disappointment during the medal ceremony.

The “not impressed” face was so well known that when the U.S. Olympic team visited the White House, President Barack Obama copied the expression in a photo with Maroney.

For the record, Phelps got second place in his heat Monday night, beating le Clos by a full second. The finals are Tuesday night.

This story was originally published August 9, 2016 at 7:15 AM with the headline "The arrival of #PhelpsFace and other viral Olympic expressions."