Phelps matches Spitz with seventh gold

By Julian Linden

BEIJING (Reuters) - Michael Phelps won his seventh gold medal in Beijing on Saturday to join fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz on the highest peak of Olympic achievement and poised to climb the summit alone.

The 23-year-old Phelps equaled Spitz's record haul from the 1972 Munich Olympics when he won the men's 100 meters butterfly final in 50.58 seconds touching out Serbia's Milorad Cavic by 0.01 seconds, the smallest margin possible in the Olympic pool.

Australia's Andrew Lauterstein was third in 51.12.

"I was shocked at the end, it was kind of a little bit of a delayed reaction. You all saw how emotional I was," Phelps said.

A slow starter, Phelps was seventh when he flipped over at the end of the first lap but recovered to surge past Cavic on the last stroke. It was the first time he had failed to break a world record in a final at Beijing's Water Cube.

"I was starting to hurt for the last 10 meters, it was my last individual race and I just wanted to finish as strong as I could," Phelps said.

"I actually thought when I did take that half stroke I thought I had lost the race right there, but I guess that was the difference in the end.

"The last two Olympics I have been able to nail my finishes, I'm happy and at a loss for words but excited."

Cavic stormed past reporters immediately after the race but Lauterstein said it was a privilege just to race against Phelps.

"It was an amazing final, every time you race Phelps you'll have a great race and a great time," the Australian said.

"Just hearing his arms slap on the block gets your heart racing, he's amazing. I'm so happy to get the medal."

By equaling Spitz, Phelps earned himself an instant $1 million bonus from his sponsors although that will seem like small change with the massive corporate deals on offer if he wins an unprecedented eighth gold in his final event on Sunday.

His last race is the 4x100 medley relay and the Americans are overwhelming favorites to win the gold after setting the fastest qualifying time in Friday's heats.

The sporting world has waited 36 years to find someone to match the benchmark set by Spitz but Phelps emerged as the first athlete capable of raising the bar even higher with his performances at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Still a teenager at the time, he won eight medals, including six golds, to match Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin's 1980 record for the most medals at one Games and spent the past four years preparing to better that in the Chinese capital.