U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps became the most successful Olympian ever on Wednesday (August 13) when he won two more gold medals in Beijing to make it 11 in his career -- and there are probably more to come in the next few days.
The 23-year-old American broke his world record for the 200 metres 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 Read more

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps became the most successful Olympian ever on Wednesday (August 13) when he won two more gold medals in Beijing to make it 11 in his career -- and there are probably more to come in the next few days.
The 23-year-old American broke his world record for the 200 metres 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 the athlete and swimmer Mark Spitz; Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi; and Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina.
Phelps also hopes to beat Spitz's seven golds -- all in world record times -- at the 1972 Olympics, by going for eight in Beijing.
Spitz has played down any competition between him and Phelps.
He recently told Reuters: "My record is not a contested event. It just so happens that I have swum in seven events and won seven of those medals. Michael has a programme of eight events and he's not swimming the same combination. In one sense it's almost irrelevant to make a comparison that way."
Phelps has repeatedly praised Spitz, but insisted that he is not trying to emulate his compatriot.
"I want to be the first Michael Phelps. I don't want to be the second Mark Spitz. I'm not downplaying his achievements by any means. What he did is still the best achievement of all time and I'm just trying to do things that nobody else has done before," Phelps said recently.
Behind every athlete bidding for glory at the Olympics, you will often find an anxious mother suffering nervous palpitations.
Phelps's mother Debbie is the perfect example. She brought up her son and two daughters on her own after her husband left home when Michael was a young boy. Debbie follows Michael to all his big meetings, but says she never disturbs him ahead of a race, their eyes only meeting at the end when he invariably seeks her out among the crowds.
Bubbly when faced with all the post-race attention, Debbie plays down her role in her son's success, saying she never tried to impose her will on him.
"Michael was a very active young man, very energetic and so I supported him in anything he wanted to do. Isn't that what a mother is supposed to do?" she said.
Phelps has had problems. In 2005 he was arrested on drink-driving charges and the 19-year-old's punishment included talking to high school students about the experience.
There is no medal for Michael Phelps to win on Thursday (August 14). He will be in action in the semi-finals of his 200 individual medley title defence and also swims in the 100 butterfly heats in the evening. The 200m final is on Friday. Close