Great haul of China

400 medley relay team gives Phelps his record eighth gold medal

BEIJING -- The spotlight intensified on the Water Cube with each passing day of these Olympics as the world witnessed Michael Phelps' nine-day battle with history. And the made-for-NBC drama reached a crescendo Sunday morning Beijing time as the U.S. phenom won an unprecedented eighth gold medal in the medley relay in world-record time.

Eight events. Eight golds. Seven world records.

The Australian team stood in his way, and Andrew Lauterstein said the Aussies were determined to ruin Phelps' pool party. "We're going to give the Americans a good shake and hopefully keep Phelpsy from getting his eighth gold."

No such luck. The U.S. led after the backstroke and was in third place when Phelps dived into the pool for the butterfly leg. He regained the lead for the Americans, and Jason Lezak preserved it to fulfill Phelps' seemingly unrealistic goal. They won in 3:29.34.

There was so much heat on Phelps and his U.S. relay teammates, it's a wonder the plastic-bubbled arena didn't melt.

Phelps had a lot on his mind and broad shoulders heading into his race. He was on a quest for gold medal No. 8, which would surpass swimming legend Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record set in Munich.

With 13 career gold medals heading into the race, he already stood alone on a pedestal, ahead of a pack of impressive nine-gold winners -- Spitz, Carl Lewis, Larissa Latvnina and Paavo Nurmi.

By racetime Sunday, Phelps had swum 17 races over nine days and covered roughly 70,000 meters, counting warm-ups and cool-downs. He had also consumed nearly 100,000 calories, consisting largely of pasta, pizza, pancakes and omelets. Five-egg omelets are typical fare.

"Lots of carbs," he said, smiling.

And, Phelps had captured the imagination of millions -- perhaps billions -- of fans, including some of America's most accomplished athletes.

Kobe Bryant and a few other NBA players attended Phelps' fourth and fifth gold-medal races earlier in the week, and afterward, an incredulous Bryant told reporters: "That is not normal."

No, it's not. Not even close.

Phelps fever has taken hold back home in the United States, particularly in Baltimore, his hometown. The Ravens got special permission from NBC to show Phelps' final race on the stadium jumbo screens after Sunday's NFL game and are asking their fans to stay and root on their hometown hero.

Phelps' mother, Debbie, on Saturday was named Johnson and Johnson's "Official Olympic Mother," which means she will likely wind up on TV commercials sometime soon. And Speedo rewarded Phelps with a $1 million bonus for tying Spitz's record.

Over the course of the week, the 23-year-old with the long torso and size 14 flippers proved he could win in every kind of situation. He broke records in his first six events, won a race blind when his goggles filled with water, won another thanks to a spectacular relay split by Jason Lezak, and won his seventh by .01 seconds. A fingernail.

And so, it came down to the 4x100 medley relay. His place in history would be largely determined by his three teammates -- Aaron Peirsol (backstroke), Brendan Hanson (breaststroke) and Lezak (freestyle). Phelps was in charge of butterfly.

It wasn't the first time Phelps was in position to win eight medals heading into the final relay. He won seven golds at the 2007 world championships in Melbourne, and the relay team blew his eighth when they were disqualified after Ian Crocker made an illegal exchange.

This time, they were under strict orders not to do that again.

Mission accomplished. Phelps had his shot at No. 8.

The backup U.S. relay swimmers qualified fastest for Sunday's final, securing the coveted Lane 4 for the A-team.