Phelps Ties Spitz for  Olympic Gold Record

18 August 2008

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps has won his seventh gold medal at the Beijing Games - in perhaps his closest race - to tie U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz's record for gold medals at a single Olympics.

United States' Michael Phelps

Phelps won the 100-meter butterfly Saturday by one one-hundredth of a second over Serbia's Milorad Cavic. Phelps was in seventh place as he came to the turn in the two-lap event.

The race was so close the Serbian swimmer lodged a protest with the Olympic committee. However, the International Aquatics Federation overruled the appeal and ruled Phelps was the winner. The race was the first victory of these games in which Phelps has not set a world record.

Rebecca Adlington of Britain broke Janet Evans's 19-year-old world record on her way to winning the 800-meter freestyle race in eight minutes, 14.1 seconds. The record had stood since August 20, 1989.

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe set a world record of her own, winning gold in the women's 200-meter backstroke in two minutes, 5.24 seconds.

Brazil's Cesar Cielo Filho won the gold medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle race (21.30 seconds).

In athletics, Valeriy Borchin won the men's 20-kilometer walk gold medal in one hour, 19 minutes one second. Ukraine's Oleksandr Petriv won the men's 25-meter rapid fire pistol gold medal.

American Vincent Hancock won the men's skeet shooting gold medal. Chinese veteran Zhang Ning won the women's singles badminton title.

In rowing, Bulgaria's Rumyana Neykova took gold in the single sculls. Olaf Tufte of Norway won the men's singles sculls title. World champions Duncan Free and Drew Ginn of Australia won the men's pairs gold medal. Georgeta Andrunache and Viorica Susanu won the women's pairs rowing gold medal.

In the women's doubles sculls competition, twin sisters Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell won the gold medal. David Crawshay and Scott Brennan of Australia won the gold medal in men's double sculls.

In women's freestyle wrestling, Carol Huynh of Canada won the gold in the 48-kilogram category.

A total of 29 gold medals will be awarded Saturday, including in track cycling, fencing, weight lifting, tennis, shooting and sailing.

The men's 100-meters final is Saturday night at the Bird's Nest stadium with American Tyson Gay battling world record holder Usain Bolt and former world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica for the title of world's fastest man.

The women's tennis final was pushed back to Sunday because of weather. The United States leads the medal total with 50 but China has more gold medals (27).