(Sports Network) - Flash photography is banned in Beijing's National Aquatics Center, but you couldn't blame the hundreds who snapped photos of Michael Phelps. After all, this has never happened before.

Phelps claimed his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Olympics with a swim in the winning U.S. 400-meter medley relay on Sunday morning, breaking the tie he shared with Mark Spitz to become the winningest athlete in a single Olympics.

It wasn't the widest of margins -- the U.S. broke its own world record to win by .70 seconds over Australia -- but it wasn't anything like .01 seconds that separated Phelps from Serbia's Milorad Cavic in the 100-meter butterfly on Saturday.

Or the .08 seconds that separated Phelps and the U.S. from France in the 400- meter freestyle relay last Monday, when Jason Lezak's improbable comeback gave Phelps his second medal.

Yes, Phelps dodged those bullets on the way to history, but he also set records. Lots of 'em.

"The whole thing, every race, one after the other from winning by one- hundredth of a second to finishing it off with a world record. It's an amazing experience and something I'll have forever."

Swimming third for the U.S. in the butterfly leg, Phelps pulled his team back into the lead after breaststroker Brendan Hansen had lost the cushion Aaron Peirsol built in the backstroke on the first two laps.

Lezak then clinched the gold medal with a good 100-meter freestyle swim -- the second time in six days he did that for Phelps -- to give the Americans a time of 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds.

It lowered the old record by 1.34 seconds.

It was the seventh world record Phelps was a part of in Beijing -- seven world records in eight winning races, the greatest Olympic feat of all time. No doubt about it.

Already the all-time winningest Olympian, Phelps also claimed his 14th gold medal overall to extend his own record. It was his 16th medal of any kind overall, putting him second all-time in total medal count behind former Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina.

"I'm lost for words," Phelps said.

Australia's Eamon Sullivan gave Lezak a run in the last 50 meters, but came up short. The Aussies touched in 3:30.04 for the silver -- a time that also would have broken the previous world record.

Japan won bronze in 3:31.98.

Phelps has looked beaten twice in Beijing -- before Lezak sprinted to beat France's Alain Bernard on the anchor leg, and before a final half-stroke lunge against Cavic in the 100 fly on Saturday.

Both produced different emotions in the so-called Water Cube: raucous cheering, jumping and screaming as Lezak churned his way past Bernard at the last moment in the 400 free relay; and breathless anxiousness when it looked like the American-born Cavic had taken the 100 fly.

Phelps celebrated like a madman both times, but Sunday was different. He celebrated, for sure, but this was more a relief. The final exhale. The finish line.

Whew.

"I literally wanted to do something that no one's ever done before in this sport," said Phelps. "It's been nothing but an upwards roller coaster. It's been nothing but fun."



Copyright 2008 The Sports Network
All rights reserved