Phelps passes Mark Spitz with golden eight

What Michael Phelps accomplished tonight has never been done before. In one set of Olympic games he has become the most decorated Olympian as well as pulling in a record breaking 8 Gold medals surpassing Mark Spitz and 16 total medals.Mark Spitz won 11 Olympic medals over two Olympic Games but always will be best remembered for his remarkable seven gold medals at the 1972 Games. That summer in Munich, Spitz set four individual World records: 100-Meter (51.22), 200-Meter Freestyle (1:52.78), 100-Meter (54.27), and 200-Meter Butterfly (2:00.70). He also participated in three relay event World records: 4 x 100 Freestyle (3:26.42), 4 x 200 Freestyle (7:35.78), and 4 x 100 Medley (3:48.16). He swam the third leg of the 200 Freestyle and 100 Medley, and the last leg of the 100 Freestyle.
The Chinese consider the number 8 to be lucky. Well, I'm betting it must be one of Michael Phelps' favorite numbers, as well, as he just won his 8th gold. Wow, it was a really great race, too! Close enough to be exciting, but not so close that it was uncomfortable.
I honestly don't know how his mother manages to sit in the stands and watch without getting sick, especially through races like last night when he won the 7th medal by .01 seconds. I assume you all saw when she put up two fingers after the end, assuming he had finished second, only to sink down in shock after seeing the places go up on the board with Phelps in first. She's probably so glad it's over!
It's really an honor to even get to see this piece of sports history. I keep thinking it will never be broken, but I'm sure people thought that about Mark Spitz when he set the original record. It's just hard to imagine that someone could ever win NINE gold medals

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