United States' Michael Phelps celebrates winning his eighth gold medal after the men's 4x100-metre medley relay final. - AP
BEIJING (AP):
MICHAEL PHELPS locked arms with his three teammates, as though they were in a football huddle calling a play, then hugged each one of them.
It took a team to make him the grandest of Olympic champions. And one last big push from Phelps himself.
Going hard right to the end of a mesmerising nine days in Beijing, Phelps helped the Americans come from behind on Saturday in a race they've never lost at the Olympics, cheering from the deck as Jason Lezak brought it home for a world record in the 400-metre medley relay. It was Phelps' history-making eighth gold medal of these games.
"Everything was accomplished," he said. "I will have the medals forever." Phelps sure did his part to win eight gold medals, eclipsing Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games.
Aaron Peirsol got the Americans off to the lead in the backstroke, but Brendan Hansen - a major disappointment in this Olympic year - slowed them down with only the third-fastest breaststroke leg. By the time Phelps dived in for the butterfly, the US were trailing Australia and Japan. That's when he really went to work.
With his long arms whirling across the water like propellers, Phelps caught the two guys ahead of him on the return lap and passed off to Lezak a lead of less than a second for the freestyle. The Australians countered with former world-record-holder Eamon Sullivan as their anchor.
"I was thinking not to blow the lead," Lezak said. "I was really nervous."
The Aussies took silver in 3:30.04, also under the old world record of 3:30.68 set by the US in Athens four years ago, while Japan held on for the bronze. "It's been nothing but an upwards roller-coaster and it's been nothing but fun," Phelps said of his record-breaking efforts.
Improbable comeback
Ditto for fellow American Dara Torres, who capped her improbable comeback with two more silver medals, missing gold by one hundredth of a second in the 50-metre freestyle.
The 41-year-old Torres, a five-time Olympian and the oldest American swimmer ever, also anchored the American women to a runners-up finish in the 400 medley relay. She got silver in all three of her races in Beijing, giving her 12 medals in a remarkable career that began at the 1984 Los Angeles Games - a year before Phelps was even born.
Germany's Britta Steffen nipped Torres at the wall to complete a sweep of the women's sprint events in Beijing. The middle-aged American smiled, her head dropping back, when she saw a time of 24.07 - just behind Steffen's winning effort of 24.06. The German added to her gold in the 100 free.
Torres received her silver, then hustled back to the locker room to grab her cap and a pair of old-fashioned goggles that were probably older than some of her teammates. She was trailing as she took the anchor leg and couldn't catch Libby Trickett on a frantic sprint to the wall, with China claiming the bronze.
Only a number
Still, not bad considering she had retired a second time after the 2000 Sydney Games, then got the urge to compete again after having her first child two years ago. Not content swimming in the old-timers' division, she set out to prove that age is only a number.
As they came to the wall, Torres and Steffen were stroke for stroke. The German reached out with her left hand and Torres stretched with her right. Steffen's fingertip got there first. Completing a race for all ages, 16-year-old Australian Cate Campbell earned the bronze in 24.17.
Australia's relay women, took the gold with a world record of 3:52.69. The Americans claimed silver with the second-fastest time in history, 3:53.30, while China took the bronze.
Australian Grant Hackett failed to become the first man to win the same event at three straight Olympics.
The Aussie was upset in swimming's version of the mile by Ous Mellouli, who won Tunisia's first Olympic gold at the pool in 14:40.84. Ryan Cochrane of Canada took the bronze in 14:42.69.
