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Phelps Swims Into Olympic History
It was all Phelps, all the time at the Summer Olympics, as American swimming superstar Michael Phelps added two more gold medals — in the men's 200-meter butterfly and the 800-meter freestyle relay — to his stash on Wednesday in Beijing.
Phelps has also smashed five world records along the way and become the winningest gold medalist in modern Olympic history, with a total of 11 so far. He will try to win — with his Midas touch — in three more finals in the coming days.
Phelps "is not just winning, he's absolutely destroying everything," teammate Aaron Peirsol told The Associated Press. "It's awesome to watch."
The Swim of Things
Federica Pellegrini of Italy set a new world record as she won the women's 200-meter freestyle. American Katie Hoff came in fourth. Stephanie Rice of Australia also outpaced previous planetary records and finished first in the 200-meter individual medley.
In a competition emblematic of the entire Olympics, China and the United States vied for top prize in women's gymnastics. This time, China grabbed the gold; the mistake-riddled American team was runner-up.
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At the moment, the United States has won 29 total medals and China 27. In the gold rush, China is ahead of the U.S., 17-10. South Korea has 13 medals and Australia and Russia have 12 each.
On Wednesday, China didn't fare so well in baseball, losing to Canada 10-0. But in women's preliminary-round basketball, China drubbed New Zealand 80-63.
In other women's basketball games, Belarus beat Russia 71–65, Spain beat the Czech Republic 74-55 and Latvia squeezed past Brazil 79-78.
The powerful and persistent United States men's beach volleyball team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser beat Argentina 21-12, 21-13. But the American soccer team lost to Nigeria 2-1 and now must go home.
In women's handball, Russia, Romania, South Korea, China and Norway advanced. Australian crushed South Africa in men's field hockey, 10-0.
And the U.S. women's softball team, in turn, beat Australia 3-0. Pitcher Cat Osterman threw a no-hitter.
In men's tennis, Switzerland's Roger Federer and Spain's Rafael Nadal — the two best players in the world — advanced from the singles third round. Federer is slated to play American James Blake in the quarterfinals Thursday.
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