Spring Break
Phelps steals the show in Beijing
AP
Issue date: 8/14/08 Section: Sports
Michael Phelps finally seems to be grasping what it all means.
Maybe it started to sink in when the president showed up at the Water Cube and came back for an encore. Maybe he got a better idea when all those NBA superstars - Kobe Bryant and LeBron James among them - actually led the cheers for him. Maybe it was those relentless text messages from friends back home.
Maybe he actually listened when the race announcer at the pool said in a deep, authoritative voice:
"Michael Phelps, greatest Olympian ever."
The head dipped. The shoulders twitched. The slightest of smiles creased his lips.
"Growing up, I always wanted to be an Olympian," Phelps said later. "I just kept thinking, 'Wow, greatest Olympian of all time.' It's a pretty cool title."
After winning five gold medals and setting five world records over the course of four days, Phelps actually got a bit of a respite Thursday at the Beijing Games, maybe even take a minute or two to reflect. He merely had the semifinals of the 200-meter individual medley in the morning, followed by the preliminaries of the 100 butterfly in the evening.
By Phelps' standards, a rather light day.
Just look what he did Wednesday: In the span of an hour, he set a world record in the 200-meter butterfly - even though a faulty pair of goggles filled with water during the race - and then came back to lead the first 800 freestyle relay to crack the seven-minute barrier, virtually lapping the rest of the field.
Those were the 10th and 11th gold medals of Phelps' career, leaving Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis & Co. in the dust. And he's still aiming to win three more before he leaves China, which would take down the record he really wants: Spitz's seven-gold performance from 36 years ago.
Everyone else is just a spectator.
"I think he's undisputedly the greatest swimmer of all time," longtime Italian coach Alberto Castagnetti said. "He's stratospheric, in technical terms and in terms of mental preparation. I've never seen anyone like him."
Maybe it started to sink in when the president showed up at the Water Cube and came back for an encore. Maybe he got a better idea when all those NBA superstars - Kobe Bryant and LeBron James among them - actually led the cheers for him. Maybe it was those relentless text messages from friends back home.
Maybe he actually listened when the race announcer at the pool said in a deep, authoritative voice:
"Michael Phelps, greatest Olympian ever."
The head dipped. The shoulders twitched. The slightest of smiles creased his lips.
"Growing up, I always wanted to be an Olympian," Phelps said later. "I just kept thinking, 'Wow, greatest Olympian of all time.' It's a pretty cool title."
After winning five gold medals and setting five world records over the course of four days, Phelps actually got a bit of a respite Thursday at the Beijing Games, maybe even take a minute or two to reflect. He merely had the semifinals of the 200-meter individual medley in the morning, followed by the preliminaries of the 100 butterfly in the evening.
By Phelps' standards, a rather light day.
Just look what he did Wednesday: In the span of an hour, he set a world record in the 200-meter butterfly - even though a faulty pair of goggles filled with water during the race - and then came back to lead the first 800 freestyle relay to crack the seven-minute barrier, virtually lapping the rest of the field.
Those were the 10th and 11th gold medals of Phelps' career, leaving Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis & Co. in the dust. And he's still aiming to win three more before he leaves China, which would take down the record he really wants: Spitz's seven-gold performance from 36 years ago.
Everyone else is just a spectator.
"I think he's undisputedly the greatest swimmer of all time," longtime Italian coach Alberto Castagnetti said. "He's stratospheric, in technical terms and in terms of mental preparation. I've never seen anyone like him."
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