American Michael Phelps became the first ever athlete to achieve eight gold medals at one Olympic Games on Sunday as his teammates didn't let him down in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay final at the Beijing Olympics.

The US team started off strongly with two-time Olympic champion Aaron Peirsol in the 100-meter backstroke leading the first two laps unsurprisingly. But breaststroke specialist Brendan Hansen was still out of form, edged by Japanese breaststroke king Kosuke Kitajima and Australian Brenton Rickard as well.

In the third 100 meters of butterfly, superfish Phelps came from behind vehemently to earn a 0.74 leading margin for the defending champion team and cheered veteran Jason Lezak up to touch the wall first in freestyle stroke in three minutes and 29.34 seconds, shaving 1.34 second off their previous world record set at the Athens Olympic Games four years ago.

Sprinter Eaman Sullivan helped the Australian team improved from the third position to a second finish, completing the race in 3:30. 04 seconds. Japan snatched the bronze medal in a new Asian record of 3:31.18.

Phelps equaled legend Mark Spitz' seven-gold mark with a hard-won gold medal in the men's 100-meter butterfly on Saturday and finally added eight to the six gold medals he won in Athens, becoming the most prolific Olympic gold medalist beyond Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Paavo Nurmi and Larysa Latynina, who won nine Olympic golds each in their career.

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2008)