Michael Phelps has it all: the most Olympic medals (23), the record of the most golds won in a single games (8 in Bejing 2008) and he's had even a street in his home town renamed after him (Michael Phelps Way in Baltimore). But does he have a strong connection with the force, too?

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That’s the theory put forward after Phelps' pre-race prep for the 200m butterfly semi-finals in Rio looked a tad, well, Sith-ish. While South Africa’s Chad Le Clos got ready for the bout with shadowboxing (presumably with the Rocky theme song playing in his head), Phelps sat cloaked in a hoodie with large headphones blasting on his ears and a death stare on his face.

Twitter wasn’t going to let that slip.

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Fortunately Phelps won’t have time to pillage a Jedi temple thanks to his packed schedule, including the 200m butterfly final, tomorrow at 2.30am.

Authors

Thomas LingDigital editor, BBC Science Focus

Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.

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