Phenomenal Phelps Won his Record Eighth Gold
From ESPN. (Phelps photos, slide)
Mission accomplished: Phelps earns eighth gold in medley relay.
Phenomenal Phelps wins 7th gold by 0.01 seconds to tie Spitz.
Phelps' Miracle Finish Frame-by-Frame Underwater Photos. (Sports Illustrated)
Lezak runs down French to win 400 freestyle relay gold for U.S.
'No way' turns into 'no quit' for Jason Lezak!
Really, I thought Cavic have won the 100 butterfly even when Phelps used his last stroke propelling his body out of the water and slamming the wall with his hands on the follow-through. Quite a miraculous come from behind win by Phelps!!
The Serbian delegation filed a protest, but conceded that Phelps won after reviewing the tape provided by FINA, swimming's governing body.
And the above might not have happen if not for Jason Lezak equally stunning win against the French team's Bernard in the 400 freestyle relay! The 32-year-old Lezak was nearly a body length behind Bernard as they made the final turn, but the American hugged the lane rope and stunningly overtook him on the very last stroke. Lezak's 46.06s is the fastest relay leg in history though it doesn't count as an official record! This gold had kept alive Phelps goal of winning eight gold medals!
Jason Lezak held on to the lead Phelps gave him, anchoring the United States to a world record in the 400-meter medley relay against an Australian team that did its best to spoil history. But Phelps, with a big hand from three teammates, would not be denied. He eclipsed Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games, an iconic performance that was surpassed by a swimmer fitting of this generation: a 23-year-old from Baltimore who loves hip-hop music, texting with his buddies and wearing his cap backward. "The Beijing Olympics has witnessed the greatest Olympian of all time -- Michael Phelps of the USA," the announcer said as Phelps posed on the deck with his teammates. Phelps won some races by ridiculously large margins, others with the closest of finishes -- most memorably, his seventh gold by one-hundredth of a second over Serbia's Milorad Cavic in the 100 fly.Swimming records fall: Is there something in the water? (IHT) Jason Lezak made sure Michael Phelps still has a chance for 8 golds! (IHT)
Tags: Photos, history, Olympics, story, swimming
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