Phelps swims into history as greatest Olympian
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:29:00 08/14/2008
Filed Under: Summer Olympics, swimming, 200mbutterfly, relay 4x200m freestyle, records
BEIJING—Michael Phelps became the greatest Olympian in history on Wednesday, capturing the 10th and 11th gold medals of his Games career and lighting the fuse for an explosion of world records at the Water Cube.
Phelps scaled the summit of Olympic achievement with his world record-setting triumph in the men’s 200m butterfly—claiming an unprecedented 10th Olympic gold.
An hour later, he led the United States to a record-shattering victory in the 4x200m freestyle relay—the last of six world marks to fall in five events on Wednesday in one of the most stunning displays in Olympic swimming history.
As ever, Phelps was center stage.
“I am at a loss for words right now. I just keep saying to myself ‘greatest Olympian of all time’ over and over,” Phelps said.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet, but it’s a great thing to hear people say.”
Phelps’ 200m butterfly time of 1 minute 52.03 seconds shaved six-hundredths of a second off the world mark of 1:52.09 he set in winning the world title in Melbourne last year.
It was his fourth gold medal and fourth world record in Beijing’s Water Cube, to go with six golds won in Athens four years ago.
The 23-year-old American moved past Olympic icons Paavo Nurmi, Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz and Larysa Latynina, who all won nine golds in their careers.
Compared to sports greats
Despite the relative anonymity of swimming in the United States, Phelps’ exploits are seeing him compared to such greats as 14-time major golf champion Tiger Woods, 12-time Grand Slam tennis champion Pete Sampras, and the hugely popular National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant.
Roger Federer, who is seeking a first Olympic tennis gold and is desperately chasing down his own piece of history—Sampras’ record—lavished praise on the swimming superstar, while Bryant and his superstar US basketball teammates trekked to the Water Cube to watch him in action.
“What he’s doing is quite incredible. He’s been doing it for so many years,” Federer said. “He’s doing it in different competitions at different lengths. He’s very impressive and he’s one of the greatest athletes out there at the moment.”
“There is nobody in any sport that can win like he wins,” said US men’s swimming head coach Eddie Reese. “He is not just winning, he is crunching world records.”
Phelps had barely stepped off the medal podium before he returned for the relay, leading off a US team that clocked 6:58.56—crushing the previous world mark of 7:03.24 set by a US squad at last year’s world championships.
Team play
“We talked about breaking seven minutes and we had two guys who averaged 1:45 or better, they really did it and pulled it out for the team,” Phelps said.
Russia were a distant second in a European record of 7:03.70, and Australia were third in 7:04.98.
With five golds and five world records Phelps continued his march toward another piece of Olympic history.
If he can win all eight of his Beijing events, he will surpass the record of seven gold medals at one Olympic Games set by US swimmer Spitz at Munich in 1972.
Laszlo Cseh of Hungary was second and Japan’s Takeshi Matsuda third in the 200m fly.
Phelps’ victory wasn’t the same kind of dominant display as his triumph in the 200m freestyle on Tuesday, but he said there was a reason for that.
Water in goggles
“My goggles were filling up with water during the race, and I had trouble seeing the wall,” Phelps said. “I wanted a 1:51 or better, but given the circumstances it’s not too bad.”
Phelps’ mammoth schedule means he has no time to contemplate his place in history.
“He won’t appreciate the history of what is happening here until later, maybe years later,” his coach Bob Bowman said.
Phelps was due up again on Wednesday night in the heats of the 200m individual medley while the 100m butterfly and 4x100m medley relay still remain.
“There is still something left in the tank,” he said. “I’ve got three races left, so there had better be something left in the tank.”
Phelps, whose deceptively unassuming manner disguises a fierce determination, took all the praises in stride.
“I saw myself on ’Good Morning America’ today and watched myself on the podium,” he said of the wall-to-wall television coverage his performance is generating back home. “I looked kind of strange.”
If Phelps were tempted to let star treatment go to his head, his friends are apparently well able to prevent it.
‘Ugly face on TV’
“I have had about 80 text messages on my phone from friends back home,” he said. “One of them said: ‘Dude, I am getting sick of seeing your ugly face on the television.’
“That made me laugh. And he also said: ’It’s time to go and be the greatest swimmer of all time,’ which was the last thing before I went out before the session.”
Phelps, who won no gold at his first Olympics in Sydney and six in Athens four years ago, said he had learned to treasure every one.
“If you have an Olympic gold medal it stays with you forever,” he said. “Christmas happens every year, birthdays happen every year. But you only get to be an Olympic champion on such rare occasions.”
Although he was more than halfway to eight golds, with perhaps his toughest challenges behind him in the 400m individual medley and the 4x100m freestyle relay, Phelps said he couldn’t afford to get complacent.
“This is my third Olympics, so I know to conserve my energy,” he said. “It is crucial at this stage in the competition.
“I am not unbeatable, no one is unbeatable,” he added. “Everyone can be beaten.”
Reports from AFP and AP
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