History written: Phelps wins No. 8

By Steven Nelson
Posted Saturday, August 16, 2008 7:12 PM ET
BEIJING -- A journey that started four years ago after his six-gold performance in Athens and included 17 swims over nine days here ended triumphantly for Michael Phelps on Sunday.

Phelps earned his unprecedented eighth Olympic gold medal of the 2008 Olympics as he swam the butterfly leg of the Americans' world-record win in the 4x100m medley relay to close out the swimming competition at the Water Cube.

Jason Lezak held off Eamon Sullivan of Australia in the freestyle leg, with the Americans finishing in 3:29.34. Australia took the silver in 3:30.04 and Japan the bronze.

Lezak said he was inspired by the celebrities on hand to watch history in the making.

"I looked up and I saw Kobe and LeBron, the best basketball players in the world. No way we were going to let those guys down," he said.

Aaron Peirsol led off in the backstroke leg, Brendan Hansen swam the breast and Lezak anchored, the same three who won gold in Athens. Phelps swam the prelims of that race in Athens, giving up his finals spot to Ian Crocker. The American men have never lost the medley relay in the history of the Olympics.

"Hats off to this guy right here," Peirsol said of Phelps in an NBC interview on the pool deck after the race. "He did something that's never been done before. We're happy to be a part of it."

Hansen called Phelps' 8-for-8 the greatest achievement in sports.

"Every single athlete in the world right now needs to tip their hat to Michael Phelps" he said.

Phelps tied Mark Spitz with his seventh gold medal a day earlier in the 100m butterfly, winning by the slimmest of margins, .01 of a second over Milorad Cavic.

His quest was almost derailed in Day 2 of the meet in the 4x100m free relay, but Lezak's unbelievable anchor leg kept the quest alive.

It was nine days of magical moments for Phelps, and he said the collective effort is what he'll remember most.

"Every race, from one to the other," he said. "It's the whole thing. It's a great experience."