Breaks Spitz’s Record

Mark Spitz says he is Watching and Rooting for Michael Phelps:

Complete Up-To-Minute Coverage At Olympics Big News Page

Phelps Wins 8th Gold

IT IS DONE! PHELPS DID IT!!!!!!!!! Michael Phelps just won his 8th gold medals and fulfilled his objective of getting 8 gold medals in 8 competitions!!!!!

Records are made to be beat, they say. Yet no one would have guessed at the begining of the summer 2008 olympic games that a single man would be able to get 8 gold medals by himslef. More medals than Canada will ever get at these games.

It is done. Phelps won the US team the relay challenge and established once for all his complete domination in swimming. He has won his 8th and final gold medal in these games after so many close battles and proved to the world he was nearly invincible in swimming.

Phelps will now be part of the history: he won 8 gold medals, one in each category he competed. After a close race, Phelps managed to win by a slight margin and establish a new record.

Phelps beat the Japan and Australia, considered to be the biggest threat to the US team, to establish a new world record. Phelps actually got a very slow start. Nervous, perhaps. But at the end he had his teamates, especially the last swimmer, to win. A flawless performance from all the team. And Phelps is still as fast as ever, catching as much as half-a-second on his closest competitors.

Some will say the amount of world records beaten is incredible, perhaps too good to be true. Some will even argue he cheated. However, let’s not forget that the fact is: Phelps worked very very hard and fully deserves his sucess. Some will argue his 7th gold medal was controversed. But a victory is a victory. Phelps trained for months, for years even and fully deserve to be part of history.

One more congratulations to him for his 8 gold medals and his complete sucess. He is trully an exceptional athlete and without any doubt the greatest Olympian of all times. This last gold medal only proves it even more.

Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal Sunday at the Beijing Olympics as a member of the victorious U.S. 400-meter medley relay team, breaking a tie with Mark Spitz for most golds in a single games.

Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps and Jason Lezak won in a world-record of 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds, lowering the old mark of 3:30.68 set four years ago in Athens.

\

TENSE MOMENTS, See

How Michael Phelps’ Mom Must Feel!

VICTORY

The U.S. swept the men’s relays in Beijing, with Phelps leading off in the 400 and 800 free relays. Lezak anchored the 400 free to a narrow victory over France to preserve Phelps’ historic bid.

Australia took the silver in 3:30.04.

Japan earned the bronze in 3:31.18.

Photo Gallery: MICHAEL PHELPS MIRACLE JOURNEY

Michael Phelps Comments about Spitzer and his Olympic Journey from Press Conference following his 8th Gold Medal win.

“I’m thankful everything turned out pretty much perfect.”
“this has been one of the greatest weeks of my life if not the greatest probably the most fun.”"I said it all along, i want to be the first Michael Phelps not the second Mark Spitz. Never once will i ever downplay his accomplishment by any means what he did still is an amazing feat and will always be an amazing accomplishment in not just the swimming world but also the olympics.”

“I think over the next four years i’d like to try some different event maybe not do some of the event i did here but try some new event and see what happens with them.”

Mark Spitz Speaking yesterday : i’m like speechless, and it has nothing to do with that he won seven gold medals it was the way that he won that race.

Five facts about American swimmer Michael Phelps who won his eighth gold medal in Beijing, an Olympic record for a single Games, on Sunday:

* Phelps comes from a broken home in Baltimore. His policeman father Fred and school teacher mother Debbie separated when he was only seven. Elder sister Whitney, also a swimmer, has written that she used the swimming pool as a refuge from the yelling.

* When he was 10, Phelps attended the 1996 Olympic Trials to support sister Whitney. She finished sixth in the 200m butterfly final and failed to make the team. The family cried in the stands. Whitney’s career was cut short by four herniated discs.

* In December 2004, Phelps was sentenced to 18 months probation after failing a drink driving test. A judge ordered him to abstain totally from alcohol and illegal drugs during his probation and attend a victim impact panel meeting sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

* When Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe said he did not think anyone could win eight races at a single Olympics, Phelps memorised the quote to motivate him for Beijing. He hung a poster of Ian Crocker above his bed after his team mate beat him at the 2003 world championships, to help motivate him for Athens.

* Phelps listens to hip hop and rap to help him get focused before a race, downloading tracks on his MP3 player. Among his favourites is American rapper Young Jeezy.

Michael Phelps Slideshow

From BBC

Michael Phelps won his eighth Olympic gold medal of the Beijing Games to beat Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven, with victory in the 4×100m medley.

The 23-year-old American teamed up with Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen and Jason Lezak to claim the historic gold in a new world record time.

They held off Australia and Japan to claim glory in a world record time of three minutes 29.34 seconds.

Great Britain’s quartet finished back in sixth place.

Phelps had already won the 400m medley, 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 4×100m free relay, 4×200m free relay, 200m medley and the 100m buttefly.

It also took his Olympic medal haul to 14 golds and 16 overall.

Victory in the 4×100m relay rounded off a remarkable Olympics for Phelps who has dominated the action in the Water Cube, also setting seven world records.

Tagged as: Beijing Olympics, Mark Spitz, Mark Spitz 2008, Mark Spitz 2008 Olympics, Mark Spitz Beijing 2008, Mark Spitz Beijing Olympics, Mark Spitz China, Mark Spitz Comment, Mark Spitz Comments, Mark Spitz Comments On Phelps, Mark Spitz Complain, Mark Spitz Ego, Mark Spitz Ignored, Mark Spitz Negative Comments, Mark Spitz Not Happy, Mark Spitz Not Invited, Mark Spitz Not Invited To Olympics, Mark Spitz On Not Being Invited To China Olympics, Mark Sptiz, Mark Sptiz Unhappy With Phelps, Michael Phelps, Michael Phelps 2008, Michael Phelps 2008 Olympics, Michael Phelps China, Michael Phelps Comment, Michael Phelps Comments, Michael Phelps Comments on Spitz, Michael phelps comments on spitz complain, michael phelps comments on spitz ego, michael phelps on spits not invited to olympics, michael phelps on spitz ignored, michael phelps on spitz not being invited to China Olympics, michael phelps on spitz not hapy, michael phelps on spitz not invited to olympics, michael phelps on spitz unhappy with phelps, Michael Phelps wins, Michael PhelpsBeijing Olympics, michal phelps, michale phelps on spitz not invited, Nbc, nbc michael phelps, Olympics, olympics michael phelps, phelps comments, phelps comments on spitz, phelps happy, phelps not happy, Phelps Spitz, phelps unhappy, Phelps wins 8th gold medal, Spitz Comments, Spitz Comments On Phelps, Spitz Not Happy, spitz phelps, Spitz Unhappy, Sports, Sports phelps, Why Didn’t Mark Spitz Go To China 0