Phelps stands alone as Olympic elite
BEIJING (Reuters) - Michael Phelps steamed into unchartered waters on Wednesday when he won two more gold medals to become the greatest Olympian of all time.
The 23-year-old American broke his world record for the 200 meters butterfly then helped the United States obliterate the world record for 4x200 freestyle relay to claim his fifth gold medal in four days in Beijing.
Coupled with his six from Athens in 2004, Phelps now has 11 gold medals, elevating him to the top of the all-time list after he was tied on nine with compatriots Carl Lewis and Mark Spitz, Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi and Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina.
"There's nobody in any sport that can win like he wins," U.S. men's head coach Eddie Reese said. "He's just not winning, he's crunching world records, he's crunching the field."
Australia's Eamon Sullivan and Stephanie Rice also broke world records as did Italy's Federica Pellegrini and French sprinter Alain Bernard in an incredible 90-minute demonstration of speed swimming at the Water Cube.
Pellegrini became the first Italian woman to win an Olympic swimming title with her victory in the 200 freestyle while Rice captured her second gold of the Games in the 200 individual medley after winning the 400 individual medley on Sunday.
Sullivan regained the world record for the 100 freestyle within minutes of losing it to Bernard during the semi-finals to set the stage for an classic showdown on Thursday.
"I knew you'd have to be on your game this morning and no holding back at all," said Sullivan, whose semi-final time of 47.05 instantly erased Bernard's mark of 47.20.
Phelps overcame the distraction of having his goggles fill with water to win the 200 butterfly in 1:52.03, just 0.06 inside his previous record, with the silver going to Laszlo Cseh of Hungary and the bronze to Japan's Takeshi Matsuda.
Phelps then teamed with Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay a little over an hour later to carve 4.68 seconds off the world record and win gold in 6:58.56 with Russia a distant second and Australia third.
"It's everything I ever dreamed about...I'm almost at a loss for words," Phelps said.
"I've still got some left in the tank, I've got three more races to go so I better have something left in the tank."
Phelps safely negotiated the first part of his remaining tasks when he qualified sixth fastest for the 200 individual medley during the evening heats.
Pellegrini powered to gold in 1:54.82 to shave 0.63 off the record she set on Monday and make amends for the 400 where she failed to medal after entering the final as the favorite.
Slovenia's Sara Isakovic won the silver while China's Pang Jiaying won bronze. All dipped under Pellegrini's old record.
"It wasn't easy to come back after the blow of the 400 where I handled the race badly," Pellegrini said.
"The key this time was instinct. My coach told me to follow my instincts and that was the best way for me."
Rice became the first female swimmer to win two golds in Beijing when she reeled in Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry on the freestyle lap to win in 2:08.45 seconds and snip 0.47 off her previous world record. American Natalie Coughlin took bronze.
Coventry also went under the old world record but had to settle for her third silver this week.
"I'm getting sick and tired of silver," she said.
(Additional reporting by Martin Petty)
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
