It isn’t a secret that Michael Phelps is still the most decorated athlete with 28 Olympic medals in his arsenal – a feat that several athletes have dreamt of achieving. But he isn’t the GOAT of swimming for just that reason, since his list of milestones goes on and on.
In 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, Phelps made history with what one can only define as a golden sweep. Winning eight gold medals, all at a single Olympics, he created a new record that no one has been able to match up to. That has been his legacy, strung alongside several other achievements that made him a class apart.
He participated and won golds in the Men’s 200m and 400m Individual Medley, 100m and 200m Butterfly, 200m Freestyle, 4x100m Freestyle, 4×200 Freestyle, and 4x100m Medley Relays.
A recent post by Swimswam News highlighted this achievement, mentioning how years ago, on this same day, Phelps created the historic record.
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One could argue that Phelps has a higher chance of achieving a feat like this owing to the sheer number of events at the Olympics for swimming. Yet, one can’t debate over his expertise, ranging across various swimming styles, that has won him all the accolades.
His historic eighth medal at the Beijing Olympics came with his win in the 4x100m Medley Relay. Phelps swam the butterfly leg and, with a dramatic finish, ended up with the gold for his team consisting of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, and Jason Lezak.
While the Beijing Olympics witnessed his historic feat, it also was the host to a swimming event so terrific that Phelps still recalls every moment leading up to his win at the time.
The 100m Butterfly, where he won one of his eight golds, almost slipped out of his hands as he butted heads against Serbian swimming icon Milorad Cavic.
The finish to the race was so close that resurfaced footage from back in the day has sparked debates over who truly won. However, Phelps remembers it as a race where he learned humility while prioritizing his lessons from Coach Bob Bowman.
Both he and Cavic were milliseconds apart, and while he bagged the gold, it went down in history as one of the few instances where he had met his match.
