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Olympic great Phelps wins third Beijing gold

12/08/2008

Michael Phelps was on the brink of Olympic immortality on Tuesday after winning his third gold medal of the Beijing Games, the ninth of his career.

The US swimmer set a new world record as he won the 200m freestyle, adding to his golds in the 400m individual medley and 4x100m freestyle relay.

Phelps, 23, is bidding to win an unprecedented eight golds at this year's Games to add to the six he claimed in Athens 2004.

He has already joined a five-strong group of Olympians to have ever won nine golds; Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Paavo Nurmi and Larysa Latynina being the others.

In the Water Cube today he beat South Korean Park Tae-hwan and fellow American Peter Vanderkaay into the silver and bronze medal positions.

"I just wanted to be out on my own which I had done by the 100m mark, that was my goal," Phelps said afterwards.

"I was out in open water and I was in the middle, which makes it difficult for the other guys to see me."

The USA was only denied a clean sweep in the swimming medals on Tuesday by Australia's Leisel Jones, who won the women's 100m breaststroke ahead of American Rebecca Soni and Mirna Jukic of Austria.

In the women's 100m backstroke Natalie Coughlin of USA won gold, Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry was in the silver medal position and American Margaret Hoelzer claimed the bronze.

And in the men's 100m backstroke America's Aaron Peirsol finished first with a new world record time of 52.54, with compatriot Matt Grevers second and Russian Arkady Vyatchanin and Austrian Hayden Stoeckel tied for bronze.