Seven of the best Olympic rivalries of all time

The Rio Olympics have seen some great rivalries reborn. Already we have seen swimmers Lilly King and Yulia Efimova get into it before their 100-meter breaststroke meet. Russia's Efimova, who has twice previously been popped for performance enhancers yet was allowed to swim, defiantly shook her finger as she won her qualifying race. American King shook her finger back at her, called her out in a interview and then beat her for the gold the next night.

The beef had everything. Bragging, smack talk, controversy, shades of the Cold War rivalry reignited and facing off in the field of play for all the marbles.

In the spirit of King and Efimova's showdown, let's look at some other great Olympic rivalries:

MICHAEL PHELPS - CHAD LE CLOS

Speaking of swimming rivalries in Rio, there is Michael Phelps vs Chad le Clos. South African le Clos beat Phelps for the gold in the 200-meter butterfly back in 2012. Before their semifinal meet on Monday, le Clos clearly was trying to get under Phelps' skin as the two were getting ready for the race. Chad le Clos was shadowboxing in front of Phelps as he was sitting and mentally preparing for the meet. Before they even got into the pool, le Clos kept staring Phelps down.

Phelps and le Clos face off for the gold in the 200-meter butterfly on Tuesday night.

NANCY KERRIGAN - TONYA HARDING

Possibly the most sensational rivalry in sports history. Kerrigan and Harding were skating in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships just weeks prior to the 1994 Winter Olympics when an attacker clubbed Kerrigan in the leg in the locker room, preventing her from skating. It turned out that Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, was the ring leader of the attack and the rivalry took on a life of its own.

Kerrigan was healed enough to skate in the Olympics, making the women's figure skating event one of the most-watched events in Olympic history. Kerrigan would finish with a silver medal while Harding, almost universally loathed, fell during her performance and failed to medal. Since then, Kerrigan has faded off into a life of ice shows while Harding had a string of embarrassing headlines and missteps, including a ban from the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

ZOLA BUDD - MARY DECKER

In the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Budd and Decker got into an unusual battle during their 3000-meter race. Just over halfway into the race, Budd and Decker got tangled up. Decker, an American, knocked Budd, a South African competing for Britain, off balance. Several meters later, both ladies stepped on each other, drawing blood and causing Decker to fall. Decker suffered an injury to her hip and couldn't finish the race. Budd, who was in contention, slowed up but finished the race amid boos from the Los Angeles crowd.

Budd tried to apologize after the race, but Decker didn't want any part of it. Since then, the two have said this was just an unfortunate accident and no one was at fault.

CARL LEWIS - BEN JOHNSON

Carl Lewis is one of the most decorated Olympians in American history and his performance in the 1984 Games in L.A. was sheer domination. Since then, Canadian Ben Johnson had become one of the biggest stars in track, beating Lewis in the 1987 World Championships in which Lewis contested the result, which led to an epic showdown in the 100-meter in Seoul a year later.

In the much anticipated showdown in the 100-meter, Johnson set a world record (9.79) and beat Lewis' personal best time to claim the gold. As with most of the "World's Fastest Men", Johnson became a superstar and was toasted by the world.

Well, for a couple of days.

Johnson's blood sample came back positive for drugs and he was stripped of the gold medal (it was given to Lewis). Johnson has since admitted his wrongdoing but also stated that pretty much everyone else was dirty as well. While no one tested positive for this race, six of the eight finalists had been involved in a doping scandal at some point during their racing careers, including Carl Lewis.

SHIRLEY BABASHOFF - EAST GERMANY SWIM TEAM

We all remember the boycotts from the U.S. and U.S.S.R. of 1980 and 1984, respectively, but even before both of those Olympics there was bad blood between the Americans and the Eastern Bloc. One most celebrated was American Babashoff, who won one gold and four silver medals at the 1976 Games in Montreal. Babashoff won gold in the freestyle relay, where the Americans beat the heavily favored East German team in one of swimming's most memorable races. In her silver medal runs, she was beaten by an East German each time.

Despite her success, Babashoff was vocal about the East German team's use of steroids and was considered a sore loser for her cries. She was one of the favorites going into the Games, but her calling out of her competitors got her the nickname 'Surly Shirley' by the media. After the Games, it was proven that she was right and that the government has a systematic program in place that even doped athletes without their knowing.

GARY HALL JR - ALEXANDER POPOV

Popov is one of the best sprint swimmers in history while Hall was a brash, young American ready to make a splash on the national stage. The boisterous Hall rubbed the established Popov the wrong way, and their primes would match up in the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

The more stoic Popov beat Hall in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyles in front of Hall's home crowd (Hall took silver in each event). However, Hall's team would beat the Russians in the relay events.

GARY HALL JR - AUSTRALIAN RELAY TEAM

Four years later in Sydney, Hall started back up with his smack talk, saying that the U.S. 400-meter freestyle relay team would smash the Australians "like guitars." Australia would win the event, and to rub it in, celebrated in front of their countrymen by playing air guitar.