Men's 200M Individual Medley Semifinal Results, Finals Lineup, Reaction

The men's 200-meter individual medley final is set after two semifinal heats on Wednesday evening at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

While 16 swimmers took the pool, all eyes were on a pair of Americans in Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.

Here are the full semifinal results and the lineup for Thursday's final:

Semifinal No. 1
Semifinal No. 2
Place	Swimmer	Country	Time
1	Kosuke Hagino	Japan	1:57.38
2	Wang Shun	China	1:58.12
3	Philip Heintz	Germany	1:58.85
4	Henrique Rodrigues	Brazil	1:59.23
5	Alexis Santos	Portugal	2:00.08
6	Bradlee Ashby	New Zealand	2:00.45
7	Eduardo Gomez Solaeche	Spain	2:00.47
8	Simon Sjodin	Sweden	2:00.81
Place	Swimmer	Country	Time
1	Michael Phelps	United States	1:55.78
2	Ryan Lochte	United States	1:56.28
3	Thiago Pereira	Brazil	1:57.11
4	Dan Wallace	Great Britain	1:57.97
5	Hiromasa Fujimori	Japan	1:58.20
6	Ieuan Lloyd	Great Britain	1:59.49
7	Andreas Vazaios	Greece	1:59.54
8	Jeremy Desplanches	Switzerland	2:00.38

Lane	Swimmer	Country
1	Hiromasa Fujimori	Japan
2	Dan Wallace	Great Britain
3	Thiago Pereira	Brazil
4	Michael Phelps	United States
5	Ryan Lochte	United States
6	Kosuke Hagino	Japan
7	Shun Wang	China
8	Philip Heintz	Germany

Fans had to wait to see Phelps and Lochte in action. Japan's Kosuke Hagino, who's already collected a pair of medals in Rio—a gold in the 400-meter individual medley and a bronze in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay—led the charge in the first semifinal, recording a 1:57.38 as the only swimmer to clock in under 1:58 in that heat, though he didn't have a top-three time overall. 

Phelps and Lochte took to the water for the second heat and finished No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, as the only swimmers to go under 1:57. Phelps went 1:55.78, while Lochte was a half-second behind him. Brazil's Thiago Pereira is seeded third at 1:57.11.

NBC Sports highlighted the pair's dominance in the event:

Phelps and Lochte have been the most successful swimmers of their generation, combining for 97 Olympic and World Championship medals, per NBC Olympics, which is already looking forward to Thursday night:

Lochte joined forces with Phelps on Tuesday in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, helping him win his 21st career gold medal. Lochte is no slouch, either, having 12 medals of his own that have been overshadowed by Phelps' dominance.

The two will be rivals on Thursday in what's likely a final showdown. Phelps has taken gold every time he's met with Lochte in the 200-meter individual medley, while Lochte won silver in 2004 and 2012 and bronze in 2008.

Swimming and Olympic fans are in for a treat as the duo battle it out and possibly put a bow on a wonderful rivalry and even better careers. 

Stats courtesy of Rio2016.com.