Michael Phelps has beat the record of Mark Spitz, who won 7 gold medals during the 1972 Munich Games. Phelps shattered the record that had stood on the books for 36 long years. Spitz won 4 individual events and 3 relays all in record time. Phelps gold rush of 5 individual events and 3 relays cinched his 8 medal quest at Beijing.
The 23 year old swimming phenom from Baltimore had to rely on others to assist in pulling off his last event which was played out in prime time on NBC Saturday night at the Beijing Water Cube. Phelps swam the third leg butterfly in the 4×100 meter medley relay.
The nail biting 100 meter butterfly, on Friday night, defied logic when the entire world thought Phelps had touched second. He beat Serbian Milorad Cavic by a fingertip. Even the swimmers mother dropped to the floor when she realized fate and good karma had dealt Phelps a huge break that has kept his quest alive. Click here to see the miracle finish frame by frame.
Fans around the globe have been busy trying to find Michael Phelps on Facebook and MySpace. If the swimming legend hasn’t had time to delve into these areas, he soon will as he enters a new phase of his life – stardom. There will be a flood of endorsement offers for his agent to negotiate and life will become far more complex than his current schedule of sleeping, eating and swimming.
Check out more HOT photos below and the 8th gold medal VIDEO.