Phelps wins historic 8th gold in men's 4x100m Medley Relay

Michael Phelps won his historic record eighth gold medal in the Men's 4 x 100 meter Medley Relay with teammates Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen and Jason Lezak. This time the American team set another world record time of 3:29.34. Phelps swam the third leg of the relay — the butterfly, which is his specialty. The event was held at the National Aquatics Center during day 9 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 17, 2008 in Beijing, China.


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With 14 golds in total including previous Olympics, Phelps now stands alone in sports history with the most Olympic gold medals. With his 8th gold medal in Beijing, Phelps breaks his tie with Mark Spitz for most golds in a single games. With the help of his teammates, Michael Phelps surpassed Mark Spitz, 36 years after Spitz's record haul of 7 gold medals at the 1972 Munich Games.


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Phelps's 8 Gold Medal List at the Beijing 2008 Olympics:

1. 400m Individual Medley
2. 4x100m Freestyle Relay
3. 200m Freestyle
4. 200m Butterfly
5. 4x200m Freestyle Relay
6. 200m Individual Medley
7. 100m Butterfly
8. 4x100m Medley Relay

The defending Olympic champion US team updated their world record time by 1.34 seconds. Australia won the silver in 3:30.04 and Japan took bronze at 3:31.18.


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Phelps admitted to being overwhelmed after achieving his feat, and was quick to pay tribute to his US team-mates.

Phelps's Quotes

"I don't even know what to feel right now," Phelps said.

"There's so much emotions going through my head and so much excitement. I kind of just want to see my mom.

"Without the help of my teammates this isn't possible.

"I was able to be a part of three relays and we were able to put up a solid team effort and we came together as one unit.

"For the three Olympics I've been a part of, this is by far the closest men's team that we've ever had.

"I didn't know everybody coming into this Olympics, butI feel going out I know every single person very well. The team that we had is the difference."

He added: "Nothing is impossible

"With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that's something I learned and something that helped me."