Phelps makes history with eight golds
US swimmer Michael Phelps has done what no other athlete in Olympic history has done - won eight gold medals in a single Games.
His eighth gold medal came in the 4x100 metres medley relay, the
final event of the Olympic swimming programme, and was accompanied
by another world record.
Phelps teamed up with backstroker Aaron Peirsol, breaststroker
Brendan Hansen and freestyler Jason Lezak to help the United States
smash the old mark of 3:30.68 seconds with a winning time of
3:29.34.
It was the seventh world record Phelps has been involved in at the
Water Cube but more significantly it provided him with an eighth
gold medal.
Phelps swam the butterfly leg and was pushed all the way by the
Australian and Japanese swimmer. At the turn he had his team in
third but touched first to put the
US in the lead into the final freestyle leg.
The Australian's came in second by half a body length, followed by Japan in third.
The New Zealand team of Daniel Bell (backstroke), Glenn Snyders (breaststroke), Corney Swanepoel (butterfly) and Cameron Gibson (freestyle) recorded a time of 3:33:39 to come in fifth, defying their pre-Olympics ranking of 16th.
It was the first time a New Zealand swimming relay team ever qualified for an Olympic final and following the race the team told ONE Sport that Phelps is a great role model for all swimmers.
"I don't know what to feel, so many emotions, so much
excitement. I just want to see my mum," Phelps said after the
race.
"Its been nothing but an upwards rollercoaster but its been nothing
but fun."
Mark Spitz's record had stood unchallenged for 36 years but the
wait to find someone to go better than Phelps could take another
century.
"The biggest thing is nothing is impossible," he said.
"With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an
imagination.
"That's something I learned, something that helped me."
He had earlier won the 400 individual medley, 4x100 freestyle
relay, 200 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 4x200 freestyle relay, 200
individual medley and 100 butterfly.
Coupled with his six golds from Athens in 2004, Phelps is a runaway
leader on the all-time list of gold medallists, having taken his
tally to 14.
Spitz, American athlete Carl Lewis, Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi and
Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina, all finished their careers with
nine golds.
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