WRAPUP 2-Olympics-Phelps equals Spitz's 1972 Olympic feat

* Phelps takes record-equalling seventh gold of Beijing Games

* World's fastest men to face off in 100 metres final

* China lead medals' table

* Blue skies over Beijing

* First swimming gold for Zimbabwe

By Andrew Cawthorne

BEIJING, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Michael Phelps matched fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven golds in one Games on Saturday with yet another victory in the pool.

Guaranteeing his status as the face of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the 23-year-old Phelps powered to victory in the 100 metres butterfly in front of an ecstatic crowd in the Water Cube with just one hundreth of a second to spare.

The 23-year-old phenomenon now has 13 career golds, four more than anyone else. As well as Olympic glory, Saturday's win brings him a $1 million bonus from sponsors.

On Sunday, Phelps can go one better than Spitz in Munich with a chance for an eighth Beijing gold in the 100m medley relay.

Watched in every race by his mother and cheered to his first wins by President George W. Bush, Phelps' success is down to a combination of natural brilliance, total focus, and the perfect swimmer's physique of large torso and long-reaching arms.

While Phelps again topped the headlines with his seemingly endless procession to the top of the podium, excitement at the Olympics was by no means only about him on Saturday.

The Games' blue riband track race, the 100m sprint, takes place in the evening in front of more than 90,000 people, and millions worldwide, in the Bird's Nest stadium.

The battle to be crowned the world's fastest man looks like a fascinating three-man, two-nation affair.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt seemed in superb form in the heats on Saturday, having time to look around and still win his second round race in the day's best time of 9.92 seconds.

Bolt has burst on to the 100m scene in the last year, shouldering aside American world champion Tyson Gay and fellow Jamaican former world record holder Asafa Powell.