Phelps makes it 8 in a row

2008-08-17 05:38

Beijing - Michael Phelps won an unprecedented eighth gold medal at the Beijing Games on Sunday as the US won the men's 4 x 100m medley relay in world record time.

With the victory, Phelps overtook compatriot Mark Spitz, whose seven swimming golds at Munich in 1972 were the most at a single Games.

At 23, and competing in his third Olympics, Phelps took his total of Olympic titles to 14, including six from Athens, where he also claimed two bronze.

The US squad of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps and Jason Lezak won a tight race in 3:29.34, Lezak holding off Australian individual world record-holder Eamon Sullivan on the closing freestyle leg.

The US were lying third when Phelps hit the water for the penultimate butterfly leg. He had given the US a narrow lead by the time he handed over to Lezak to finish it off.

The Americans improved on the previous world record of 3:30.68, while Australia finished second in 3:30.04 and Japan took the bronze in 3:31.18.

Hackett took silver

Tunisia's Oussama Mellouli ended Grant Hackett's dream of an historic three straight 1 500m freestyle golds with a victory in 14:40.84.

Mellouli sprinted clear with 300m remaining and held off the Australian great's spirited finish.

Hackett, the winner of the event in Sydney and Athens and bidding to become the first male swimmer to win three Olympic titles in the same event, took the silver in 14:41.53, only 0.49s behind.

Canadian Ryan Cochrane, who led up to the 1 000m, finished third in 14:42.69.

Mellouli, 24, has only recently served out an 18-month doping ban after becoming Tunisia's first swimming world champion with a come-from-behind win in the 800m freestyle at last year's world championships in Melbourne.

Seven of the field finished the final inside 15mins.

Oldest swimming medallist

Germany's Britta Steffen won the women's 50m freestyle, edging US veteran Dara Torres to complete a sprint double.

Steffen, who out-gunned world record-holder Libby Trickett to win the 100m freestyle gold, clocked 24.06s and edged the 41-year-old Torres by just one one-hundredth of a second.

Torres, whose silver in the 4 x 100m free relay in Beijing had already made her the oldest Olympic swimming medallist, added another silver by the narrowest of margins, posting an American record of 24.07.

Behind her, 16-year-old Cate Campbell of Australia - born the year Torres competed in her third Olympic Games in 1992 - took the bronze in 24.17.

The US claimed silver

Trickett returned to anchor Australia to a world record-breaking victory in the women's 4 x 100m medley relay.

The Australian quartet of Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper and Trickett clocked 3:52.69 to hold off a US team of Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Christine Magnusson and Torres, who claimed the silver in 3:53.30.

China's Zhao Jing, Sun Ye, Zhou Yafei and Pang Jiaying captured bronze in 3:56.11.

- AFP