Michael Phelps's Least Famous Strokes of Brilliance

Michael Phelps does not dominate or even contest every swimming discipline in international competition. The butterfly is his most famous stroke and individual race, and he has routinely cleaned up in freestyle. But he has only medaled in backstroke once. That was 10 years ago. And in no year has he participated in breaststroke on a global stage.

So, of course, it was those two styles that propelled him to the lead of the men’s 200-meter individual medley final Thursday night, an event he wound up winning with a time of 1:54.66, almost two seconds faster than his closest competitor.