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Michael Phelps’ 2008 Olympic Legacy: 8 Gold Medal Victories, 7 World Records

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Is there anyone who watched the Beijing Olympics on television who does not already know that Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals, setting 7 world records and 1 Olympic record in the 8-day swimming competition?

Of course not, so let it be known that Phelps broke American Mark Spitz’s record of 7 gold medals while competing in the swimming events at the 1972 Munich Olympics, a record that stood the test of time for 32 years. Many pundits thought that Spitz’s accomplishment would never be broken, but others like me know that records are made to be brokenthat is the whole point of keeping records.

There is not an adequate adjective to describe Phelps’ performance, they have all been used up on other, lesser performances and become hackneyed phrases. Here are the gold-medal winning events and records in order as history was made for the whole world to see:

1) 400 Individual Medley – World Record: 4:03.84 – Broke his own record by 1.41 seconds, no one was even close.

2) 400 Freestyle Relay – World Record: 3:08.24 – Broke USA record by 3.59 seconds, a huge margin for the United States with Phelps as the lead leg on the team with Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak. Team USA won by 8 one-hundreds of a second thanks to Jason Lezak, who swam the fastest-ever 100-meter relay split, catching France’s Alain Bernard in the final 10 meters and beating him at the wall.

3) 200 Freestyle – World Record: 1:42.96 – Broke his own record by 18 one-hundredths of a second. The 200 freestyle was the only event Phelps did not win at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

4) 200 Butterfly – World Record: 1:52.03 – Broke his own record by 6 one-hundredths of a second. Despite his goggles filling with water and leaving him without clear vision, he counted his strokes, made his turns properly, and won anyway. No excuses, just a champion swimmer adjusting to the circumstances and coming away with the gold.

5) 800 Freestyle Relay – World Record: 6:58.56 – Broke USA record by 4.68 seconds, another runaway victory for the United States with Phelps as the lead leg on the team with Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay. Phelps had less than an hour after his 200 butterfly world record to prepare and swim in this event.

6) 200 Individual Medley – World Record: 1:54.23 – Broke his own record by 57 one-hundredths of a second.

7) 100 Butterfly – Olympic Record: 50.58 – This race was the most dramatic of his victories and arguably the most dramatic finish in Olympic history given the historic record set by Phelps in winning 8 gold medals. Phelps was in 7th place and trailed the Serbian-American Milorad Cavic at the turn. Somehow, he surged to pass 5 competitors and close the gap on Cavic, who appeared to win.

The automatic timers told another story. Phelps, in a desperate move, took another half stroke at the wall and beat Cavic by 1 one-hundredth of a second50.58 to 50.59. When a protest was lodged, cameras beneath the water provided positive proof that Phelps had touched before Cavic. This is why they have automatic timers and visual, photographic proof at world-class, international meets.

4×100 Medley Relay – World Record: 3:29.34 – Broke USA record by 1.34 seconds. Phelps swam the 3rd leg on the team with Aaron Peirsol as the lead leg, Brendan Hansen second and Jason Lezak the anchor leg.

In fairness, Phelps faced bigger challenges than Spitz did when he broke Spitz’s record of 7 gold medals.

One factor is that in the 100- and 200-meter events, Phelps had to compete in preliminary and semifinal heats to qualify for the finals; Spitz had to swim only one heat to qualify for the finals in 1972. Phelps had to swim 17 times in 8 days to win 8 gold medals.

Another factor is that there are more swimmers who are bigger, faster and stronger, and also the USA team in 1972 was much more dominant among world competition than it is today.

Could Michael Phelps do for swimming what Tiger Woods did for golf? Time will tell. Remember Michael Phelps’ moment in history because you may never see another Olympic performance like his in your lifetime.

About the Author

Read my running articles, including:
“Updated USA Prep Track & Field Records and the New Best 2008 Top Performances”
“A St. Patrick’s Day Toast to Irish Runners Marcus O’Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan”
“Meet ‘Pre’ – America’s Greatest Running Legend and Greatest Middle Distance Runner”
Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html

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