Who is Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals in 8 events at the Olympics in Beijing, breaking Mark Spitz's single-Games record for the most gold medals. Phelps swam 17 times over nine days and broke the world record in four of his five individual swims. The three relay teams he was a part of also set world records.

In his first final, Phelps won the 400m Individual Medley in 4:03.86, at least one second faster than the world record he set a month earlier at US Olympic Trials. The next day, Phelps and the US 4×100m freestyle relay team won by a very slim margin. Phelps' leadoff leg of 47.51 was a US record; however anchor leg Jason Lezak dived in with more than a half-second deficit. Lezak posted the fastest relay split in history, 46.06, to catch Frenchman Alain Bernard (and 100m Freestyle Gold Medalist) for the win, by just .08 of a second.

Phelps easily won the 200m freestyle, for his third gold in Beijing and his record-tying ninth career gold medal. But he wasn't tied for long, as the next morning, Phelps won two more gold medals: first, in the 200m butterfly and then as a member of the 4×200m freestyle relay, as the U.S. men, with Phelps leading off, broke the world record by more than four seconds. Phelps won his sixth gold medal with a dominating performance in the 200m Individual Medley, lowering his world record to 1:54.23. His seventh gold was by the slimmest of margins, .01 in the 100m butterfly. Phelps appeared to trail Milorad Cavic but his final half stroke beat out Cavic's glide to the wall by a fingernail.

Phelps swam the butterfly leg of the 4×100m medley relay in the final event of the Beijing Olympic swimming competition. He left the blocks with his team third but gave the lead to Jason Lezak, who went on to touch first, providing Phelps with a record 8 gold medals.

At first glance, Phelps looks like a typical swimmer. But several of his physical characteristics seem to be genetically tailored for swimming. His 6-foot-7-inch wingspan is three inches longer than his height, providing him with a great reach. His torso is quite long compared to his legs, enabling him to ride very high on the water. His flexible ankles, combined with size 14 feet, allow for a very powerful kick. Add to these physical characteristics more than a decade of high-intensity training, and you get one of the fastest swimmers in history.

Prior to the Beijing Olympics:

The world's most accomplished swimmer Michael Phelps will attend the Beijing Olympics with the possibility of winning 8 gold medals, the most ever won by an Olympian. At 23, Phelps already owns eight Olympic medals, including six golds. He also holds four world records and rebroke his 200 IM and 400IM world records at the recent 2008 US Olympic Swim Trials. Phelps will swim the five events he won at the US Olympic Swim Trials - the 200 and 400 individual medleys, the 100 and 200 butterfly and the 200 freestyle - at the Olympics. He also will participate in all three men's relays for the USA.

The ultimate authority on winning multiple Olympic gold medals, Mark Spitz, said he believes Phelps can break his 1972 Olympic record of seven gold medals and is expecting history next month. "I would say he has a great chance of doing it," said Spitz, who hung the medal around Phelps' neck when he won the 200 individual medley in world-record time at the US Trials. "I would expect you are going to see him win by margins and set times that have never been done before. He'll be unbelievable. I think this is a marvelous time for Michael Phelps. I'm hoping he embraces this opportunity and relishes it. I'm happy to pass the baton."
Phelps is eager for the Olympics to come around. "Hopefully, I'll be faster [at the Olympics] than I was here," he said. "It's going to be a fun month."