Michael Phelps Wins 7th Gold Medal, Ties Mark Spitz's Record

BEIJING — Michael Phelps beat Milorad Cavic of Serbia to the wall to win the 100-meter butterfly Saturday, tying Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at a single Olympics.

With his arms fully outstretched, the American touched in 50.58 seconds, brreaking Cavic's Olympic record of 50.76 set in the semifinals.

Cavic, who was still in mid-stroke at the wall, took the silver in 50.59, a mere 0.01 seconds behind Phelps. Andrew Lauterstein of Australia earned the bronze in 51.12.

It was the first race of these games in which Phelps didn't set a world record.

Crocker, the world record-holder, was fourth in 51.13.

Phelps won the event four years ago in Athens, and Crocker finished second.

Comments

[Obama4Life]

Listen idiots, you can't say Phelps is the greatest athlete of all time. Maybe one of the greatest swimmers, but you can't paint with a broad brush and make it seem like the guy is the God of all sports.

Phelps sucks at track and gymnastics. I'm pretty sure with those flipper like feet of his.

nitwits...­.

No wonder republicans beat you fools every time.

I'm not trying to bash Phelps, I'm trying to bash idiots who go around saying he is the ultimate athlete. Thats idiotic.

I'm pretty sure Phelps doesn't even think t hat.

[splastershoes]

Definitions are serious business..­. :P

Dictionary.com's definition: "a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill. "

American heritage dictionary's definition: "n. A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts."

From the online etymology dictionary: "1528, from L. athleta, from Gk. athletes "contestant in the games."

I think that he would easily fit into all three of those definitions as the greatest "athlete" of all time. Unfortunately, most people refer to people that have multiple disciplines as being the only athletes. This is retarded, and people should be ashamed of themselves. No one has dominated a "games" competition like Michael Phelps has. Ever. Tiger Woods would be the closest example. Other than that, it's apples to oranges. Any team sport requires a reliance on teammates. People like Federer and Nadal, Woods and Nicklaus, Phelps and Spitz, Lewis and Owens...th­ese are the people that have crushed their opponents without reliance on teammates. For other "team sports" athletes to claim that they are as dominant as Phelps is in swimming would be like saying that Kobe Bryant or Lebron James are the best at every single position in basketball. That just doesn't happen.

Congratulations, Michael. Last night was a nail biter and one of the most entertaining moments in sports history.

[ObamaLover]

Bob Costas, Meredith Vieira and many of NBC's sports announcers seem to be working in a different, more exotic place: Bay-zhing.

[echo]

The only real way to determine if Phelps is the greatest Olympian is to send him back in a time machine to compete with Spitz on a level playing field.

[EdwardTx]

Why all this hatred toward Mr. Phelps? I have not seen any reports of him being arrogant, conceited, rude or disrespectful towards his fellow competitors, officials or the media. And I haven't seen him blanketing the airwaves in commercials. He has performed an amazing feat yet all I see are people either denigrating his athleticism or denigrating the sport of swimming. What a way to support American athletes.

Maybe if he gets arrested in Beijing for some crime more people will support him. It seems to work in the MLB, the NFL and the NBA.

[bluestatelib]

Lovely - condemn attacks on Michael Phelps and swimming while casting unnecessary aspersions on other sports. Hypocrite much?

[EdwardTx]

Actually it was casting aspersions on American popular culture which glorifies the "bad." NIce try.

[FrankenPC]

The greatest Olympian of ALL time was Jesse Owens. Not because of the quantity of gold medals but because of the insane pressure and social hurdles he had to overcome to win. A true American hero.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Owens

[Frenbar]

Don't you mean greatest Olympian of recent times? Unless you've done some serious research into the Olympics held in ancient Greece, maybe you should keep your declarations to the last couple of hundred years.

[FrankenPC]

Good point.... you aren't racist are you?

[Obama4Life]

He is not the "Greatest Olympian Ever"

Man I hate how people exaggerate things.

The Olympics consists of more sports than just swimming, which is easiest sport to win medals in according to other Olympic athletes.

Ever wonder why its always swimmers who win the most?

Put it together you bandwagon sheep.

Phelps is great, but not the greatest of all time. He will probably be taken over a couple of years later by some other kid.

Just stop running out people... kind of annoying.

Btw there are other Athletes from this country that won gold medals, try giving them some props.

Phelps isn't the only Athlete on our team ya know???

[mikebythesun]

Oh, how many swimming gold medals have you won? Since it's so easy and everything. Did you ever even compete in swimming? I'm guessing you haven't. I swam competitively for ten years. His feat is absolutely amazing.

[ObamaLover]

maybe more medals are won is swimming because it is the most difficult to master... so if you do, you clean up?....

Thank you PHelps for representing the best country in the world with your talent

[KingHuff]

What a stupid post.....l­et's assume for a second that your ridiculous " swimming is the easiest " sport to win in is true, then of all the people who have ever taken the EASY route , he is ONLY the 2nd person to ever win 7 golds. And Phelps has arguably faced much better trained swimmers than anyone in the past, with many nations now dedicating lots of money to its programs.
If he isn't the greatest or at least tied for greatest..­.who is ?

[TurgidCaterwauling]

Perhaps the olympic record books can show that Mark Spitz is the greatest swimmer of all time in the category of long hair, mustache, speedo, shallow pool, analog timers, and low-tech lane dividers. That way everyone will know that Phelp's records can't be compared to Spitz's. Too bad in this country that our heroes are darlings for a while, and then we like to knock them down and find fault. Like everything, the science of sport has evolved; the accomplishments of our athletes should not be diminished as a result. I haven't read the criteria for determining world's greatest olympian. But if it is based on total number of golds won in an single olympics and total number won overall, then Phelps indeed is the greatest. No different than calling someone the world's fastest human. Unfortunately, the trashing pf Phelps will probably get worse, after all, what can generate a headline like the possibility of tarnished gold? Phelps seems sharp enough to stay above the fray.

[AMERIKA]

As a former world class athlete myself, I can tell you that he really is one the greatest Olympians ever. It is so hard to peak in time for the Olympics for ONE event, let alone multiple events. Additionally, consider that when Mark Spitz won his 7 golds, he did so against a pretty thin field compared to Phelps. And we will see if Phelps returns to the Olympics, I suspect that he will (see the womens field) what with better training, diet and health care techniques nowadays. His run might not be over yet. I compare Phelps to the greats. A title he has earned through hard work. Remember, I think it was Gary Player who said "the harder I work, the luckier I get"...so yea, he had a bit of luck to win last night, but you can take nothing away from him. He is dominant. The most dominant swimmer in history. Period

[GeeCan]

Thanks for your post, it's a nice break from all the hysterics this has provoked.

[robXdion]

I wonder if the swimming times would be faster if the pool was 100 meters long and without the turnaround?

[Gondi]

LOL

[CuriousPerson]

Call me what you will, he may have won the most medals, but the greatest Olympian ever?
Nah... he may be the best simmer for the last few years, but take all the greatest of the past, put them in space aged suits designed by NASA , subject them to the same state-of-the-art training he benefits from, then get back to me with the results.

Comparing him to the greats of the past decades is apples to oranges.

[sufi66]

Too bad. If he lost this would become a real news story, not just part of a vast marketing scheme.

[KingHuff]

A marketing scheme ? Get a grip Sufi , Phelps is one of the greatest swimmers ever and no amount of marketing wins his races for him. He gets so much press because of his greatness not because some ad man decided he should be a star. Sounds like you just can't stand someone attaining such great heights.

[jpcline004]

Its a conspiracy! Speedo LZRs are gonna be the new little black dress!

[KNadine]

That was soooooooo close. Good thing they have those digital touch pads. I thought he lost. Freaking amazing!

[marymansour]

Great swimmer. I was listening as NBC described Phelps' body as being the perfect swimming machine.

[FaceYourFears]

Good race for Phelps but it sure looked like the other guy beat him to the wall!

[DesertLight]

There is an electronic touch pad that calculates the scores, for however reliable that is.

[PleaseSaveAmerica]

I watched it in very slow motion on my DVR, and Phelps did indeed touch first. Freaking amazing!