Olympic News Circle: Summer & Winter Olympics

Watch Michael Phelps: record-breaking eighth gold at Beijing 2008

Michael Phelps of the U.S. celebrates winning the gold medal in the men’s 400m individual medley swimming final at the National Aquatics Center during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 10, 2008.

The United States clocked a new world record of 3:29:34 to win the men’s 4×100m medley relay as Michael Phelps claimed his eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics here on Sunday.

Australia took the silver in 3:30.04 and Japan got the bronze in 3:31.18.

American swimmer Michael Phelps has become the first athlete ever to win eight gold medals in one Games, beating a 36-year old record by Mark Spitz. So far, Phelps has won a total of 14 olympic gold medals in all olympic games that he participated in, including Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008. He will compete in London 2012 as well.

Watch MICHAEL PHELPS Gold Medal Ceremony after this commercial.

Michael Phelps - list of gold medal events at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

1. Men’s 400-Meter Individual Medley
Michael Phelps

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2. Men’s 4×100-Meter Freestyle Relay [August 11, 2008]
Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak

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3. Men’s 200-Meter Freestyle
Michael Phelps

4. Men’s 200-Meter Butterfly [August 13, 2008]
Michael Phelps

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5. Men’s 4×200-Meter Freestyle Relay [August 13, 2008]
Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens, Peter Vanderkaay

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6. Men’s 200-Meter Individual Medley
Michael Phelps

7. Men’s 100-Meter Butterfly
Michael Phelps

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8. Men’s 4×100-Meter Medley Relay
Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak

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4×100 medley relay where Phelps and Team USA bring home the gold which makes it Michael’s 14th gold medal, and 8 for 8 in Beijing 2008- beating Mark Spitz record. History made.

Michael Phelps celebrates his 8th gold at Beijing 2008

Olympic News

Michael Phelps took a record-breaking eighth gold at one Games on Sunday in Beijing to beat fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz’s seven from Munich 1972.

Phelps hugged his team mates in celebration after a comfortable men’s 4×100 meters medley relay win contrasting with the finger-tip, split-second finishes that came in two of his earlier Beijing golds.

His 14 golds, which include six in Athens, make him the most successful Olympian of the modern era by a big margin of five.

With Games spectators still agog at Usain Bolt’s audaciously brilliant 100m win in the blue riband athletics race on Saturday night, the first gold of Day Nine went to Romania.

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Having passed Spitz’s seven golds of 36 years ago, the 23-year-old Phelps now stands alone in the record books.

Blessed with an arm span bigger than his height, Phelps has pumped himself up with hip-hop before races and always looks for his mother in the stands at moments of triumph.

He is guaranteed a lifetime of multi-million corporate deals.

But Phelps has failed to match Spitz in one aspect. His 100m butterfly gold on Saturday was not in a world record time, unlike his other seven wins in Beijing.

All seven of Spitz’s medals came in world record times.

Read more: yahoo.com

Beijing News

美国队拿下4×100米混合泳接力金牌 菲尔普8金创造奥运历史
奥运官方网站8月17日讯 今天上午11时07分开始的男子4×100米混合泳接力的比赛中，菲尔普斯带领的美国队以3分29秒34的成绩打破了由他们保持的3分30秒68的世界纪录，夺得金牌。澳大利亚队以3分30秒04获得银牌，日本队以3分31秒18获得铜牌。这枚金牌也是菲尔普斯本届奥运会个人的第8枚金牌。从今天起，他超越了美国游泳运动员施皮茨一届奥运会上夺得7枚金牌的纪录，为奥林匹克运动史写下辉煌的一笔。

美国队出场的依次是佩尔索尔、汉森、菲尔普斯、莱扎克，这四位选手在各自项目上都具有冠军实力。佩尔索尔首先在仰泳的100米中为美国队获得了领先优势，但是日本队第二棒选手北岛康介以超强的实力超越美国，为日本队获得了第一的位置。第三位出场的菲尔普斯在第一个转身后超越日本队并在到达时为美国队获得了较大的优势。美国队最后一个出场的是名将莱扎克，他始终保持着美国队的领先，并以超过第二名半个身位的优势获得第一名，拿下了本届奥运会游泳项目的最后一枚金牌。

在4年前的雅典奥运会上，年仅19岁的菲尔普斯带着他少年意气风发的骄傲，用夺取8枚金牌的豪言吸引了世人的关注。在那个泳坛群雄并起的时代，索普、霍根班德让他的8金梦止步在200米自由泳的水池中。四年后，成熟的菲尔普斯略显低调，但是更强大，目标也更明确。如今，索普退役，霍根班德也已老去，他以8枚金牌为阶，傲然登上“水立方”之巅，向世人宣告游泳的王者的到来。

索普说：“菲尔普斯不可能超越施皮茨一届奥运会夺取7金的纪录。”又称，“我不相信有人能打破这个纪录。不过，如果这个星球上有这么一个人能够做到的话，那肯定是菲尔普斯。”而菲尔普斯在100米蝶泳险胜查维奇后，他说：“这证明不管梦想什么，都有可能实现。有梦才有希望。”

菲尔普斯本届奥运会共夺得8枚金牌，打破7项世界纪录。现在他以14枚金牌成为了拥有奥运金牌最多的运动员。
Read more: beijing2008.cn

Phelps says London 2012 will be his farewell Games

LONDON — Michael Phelps had some comforting news for demoralized rivals on Sunday when he declared the 2012 London Games would be his final Olympics.

“I told myself I would never compete past the age of 30,” the 23-year-old American swimmer told a news conference after flying in from Beijing, where he won a record eight golds in the Water Cube pool.

“I’m not sure if I’ll go a few more years after the (London) Olympics. I don’t know why I picked 30 but I told (coach) Bob Bowman that I’m not swimming past the age of 30 so don’t get any ideas.

“He said ‘Well, that’s good because I don’t want to coach you past the age of 30.”‘

Phelps surpassed compatriot Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven golds in a single Games in Beijing with victories in freestyle, butterfly, individual medley and relays.

The Baltimore swimmer has said he wants to take up new events, with the 100 freestyle a prime target along with individual backstroke.

However he assured Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima, the double Olympic breaststroke gold medalist, that he would not be moving into his territory in the quest for new challenges.

“It’s going to be no breastroke, no distance swimming and no open water, so at least those guys will still be my friends,” he said.

SINGLE MEDAL

Mobbed by photographers as he held up just one of his Beijing medals at the appearance for sponsors Visa, Phelps was in London to kick off the countdown to 2012 as Beijing handed over the baton.

“I’ve no idea what I am really going to do over the next four years but I’m looking forward to trying some new events and swimming some events that I haven’t really had the opportunity to swim,” said the American.

“Bob said to me that he’s going to put everything that he’s done coaching me and just throw it out the door and do something completely different, just to see how it works.

“If it’s successful then great, if not we can go back to what we’ve been doing.”

Phelps has never competed in London, where he enjoyed behaving like a regular tourist on Sunday by standing in the summer rain outside Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard.

He said he hoped to catch a soccer game, preferably involving Manchester United or West Ham United, and looked forward to 2012 where he expected Britain to field an “amazing” team in the pool.

“We’ve all had some races here and there and they (Britain) have improved so much over the last four years and I’m just looking forward to seeing how much faster they can go.”

With a record 14 career Olympic gold medals, Phelps will have to contend with a new level of celebrity and fortune but he saw no choice between fame and success in the years ahead.

“I’m having fun and I think that’s really all that matters,” he said. “You can do anything. I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned over the last four years is that anything is possible if you set your imagination.

Read more: canada.com