Along with Russian gymnast Alexander Dityatin, he already held the record for the most medals of any color, with the eight (6G, 2B) he won at the 2004 Athens Games.
Among the records he set in Beijing:
* Individual with the most gold medals, now 14. The record was previously held by Carl Lewis and several others, with 9.
* American with the most medals of any color, that being 16. The previous record holder was swimmer Jenny Thompson, who won 12 medals, in four different Olympics, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004.
* And, of course, the big one. Seven of his eight gold medals in Beijing came via individual or team relay world records, and the eight came in an Olympic record. Mark Spitz set a then-world record with each of the seven gold medals he won in the 1972 games in Munich.
The only record left for him is the most medals overall of any color. Currently, that belongs to Russian gymnast Larissa Latynina, who won 18 medals in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Games. Phelps is 23 now, and if he remains healthy and interested in swimming, winning at least three more medals in London should be no problem.
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I noticed Visa’s advertising motto for these Games is “Go World.” Go World? Versus whom? Did Mars send an team?
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His name is Samuel Francis. I kid thee not.
Samuel Adelebari Francis is a Qatari sprinter. So far, he has won no medals, and has no prospects of doing so. In other words, some would say that he’s a Beautiful Loser.
