Michael Phelps gets 8 of the best

Just earlier today, I witnessed history being made at the Beijing Olympics. US swimmer Michael Phelps (no further introduction needed) won yet another gold medal, courtesy of the US men's swimming team's victory in the 4 x 100m medley relay. That was gold medal number 8 for Phelps at the Beijing Olympics, & it made him the record holder of the most gold medals at a single Olympics. In the process, he surpassed the 7 gold medals won by Mark Spitz (also an American swimmer) at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Congratulations, Mr Phelps.

What a phenomenal achievement, this. What a freak! Michael Phelps should really get a giant medal cabinet, if he doesn't already have one, because he also won a stack of medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics (6 gold, 2 bronze). Not to mention various other medals at World Championships & various other swimming competitions.

Phenomenal & remarkable it may be, he needed some luck along the way, plus some help from teammates. In the 4 x 100m free relay on Day 2, his teammate Lezak very narrowly touched the wall to secure victory, ahead of the French team by just 0.08 seconds. Then, Milorad Cavic, the Serbian swimmer born in the US, gave Phelps a huge run for his money in the 100m butterfly, before Phelps won by a whisker (0.01 seconds) to secure gold medal number 7 & equal Mark Spitz.

Of course, to pull off such an unprecedented feat, some good fortune is needed, but that should not take anything away from Phelps' achievement. And to think he's only 23 years old. What's he going to do now? Where does he go from here? By the London 2012 Olympics, Phelps will be 27, which is still young. Is he going to to get 8 gold medals again?? Or will he go for 9 gold medals? How about 10? Will he even still be in swimming by then? Goodness knows what Phelps will decide to do. Oh well, whatever he does in future, we should salute his present achievements. Once again, congrats, Michael Phelps!