 |
| Welcome to BuaNews, the gateway to quick and fresh government news and information |
| Home | Bua Features | Today's stories | This week's stories | Last week's stories | Other Features | International News |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System Date: 18 Aug 2008 Title: Epic eight golds for phenomenal Phelps -------------------- Beijing - With eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps has ascended to the top of the world. "This is a dream come true for me," the swimmer said. He not only accomplished his goal of breaking the seven-gold mark of his countryman Mark Spitz in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, but also went well beyond that. In Beijing, Phelps swam 17 races, totalling an unmatched length of 3 200 meters in the water. He swept the golds in his pet events, overpowered competitors in his weak races and still managed to win when his goggle malfunctioned. "I went from hitting my head on the wall to win by one hundredth of a second to doing my best time in every event. It's been nothing but an upwards roller coaster. It's been nothing but fun," he said. Phelps now has 14 Olympic gold medals around his neck, making him the greatest Olympian of all time. At the award ceremony for the 4X100 medley relay, Phelps was given a special certificate by swimming governing body FINA to acknowledge his achievements. The golds were hard work paying off, Phelps said. "My coach Bob always said to me that it was like putting money in the bank. I guess I put a lot of money in the bank for the last four years, and we withdrew pretty much every penny of it." With stunning races in the Beijing's Water Cube, Phelps has turned the competition into a one-man show. Many superlatives were piled on the 23-year-old American. Online, he was called the Poseidon, the half-man half-fish, and the extra-terrestrial. Phelps has conquered almost everyone, his teammates, competitors, coaches, swimming officials and of course the spectators. Australian swim coach Alan Thompson said the presence of Phelps "made a field of great swimmers look ordinary." His teammate Aaron Peirsol said it might be once in a century you see something like Phelps races. "He's not just winning, he's absolutely destroying everything. It's awesome to watch," Peirsol said. His rival Park Tae-hwan said it was both an honour and a tragic thing to compete with Phelps, because he could only swim for the second. Three-time Olympian Australian Grant Hackett said there are no words to describe Phelps' level of achievement. "In my opinion we'll never ever see it again, it will never be emulated," Hackett said on Sunday. "I said he could win six or seven, with a little luck maybe eight. That 100 butterfly race, the way he got on that wall, everything lined up for him perfectly. He is an incredible racer," Hackett said. Phelps won that 100 fly race by the smallest margin - 0.01 seconds over the runner-up Serbian swimmer. Looking back, Phelps admitted there was a bit of luck. "I guess eight is a lucky number for me, too, now. Seeing 8/8/08 and the opening ceremony started at 8/8/08. Maybe it was meant to be," he said. - BuaNews-Xinhua |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| BuaNews user policy: Government Communications (GCIS) established BuaNews to enable community radio stations, newspapers and other media, locally and internationally, to have easy and fast access to fresh government information, news and current affairs at no cost. While BuaNews is a public service initiative, the use of any information should be credited to BuaNews. |