8月17日，美国的菲尔普斯夺得北京奥运会第八金，成为历史上一届奥运会夺得金牌最多的选手。

　　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.

　　"I want to be the first Michael Phelps, not the second Mark Spitz," he said.

　　"Being able to have something like that to shoot for made those days when you were tired and didn't want to be there, when you just wanted to go home and sleep, not work out," he added.

　　In Beijing, Phelps swam 17 races, totaling 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.