Phelps Wins 8 Gold Medals
Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, the most golds in a single Olympics ever
August 17, 2008
Eight Golds in Eight Days
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in eight swimming events — the most gold medals ever won by a single athlete at a single Olympic Games. He surpassed the record of seven golds set by Mark Spitz at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Phelps competed in individual events including the 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, and 400m individual medley, as well as relay events. The feat required not just exceptional talent but extraordinary physical conditioning, mental focus, and the ability to recover and compete at peak level multiple times over eight consecutive days.
The Race That Almost Wasn't
Several of Phelps's eight golds were nail-biters. The 100m butterfly — his seventh gold of the games — was won by a margin of one hundredth of a second over Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic. Phelps's finishing stroke, which looked less graceful than Cavic's glide to the wall, actually proved more effective. High-speed photography confirmed Phelps touched first. The relay events required his teammates to perform at their best to contribute to the gold haul. The 4x100m freestyle relay, in which the American team overcame a French team that had predicted victory, produced one of the great relay swims in history.
The Greatest Olympian of All Time
Phelps finished his Olympic career with 23 gold medals and 28 medals in total — more than any athlete in Olympic history. He competed at five Olympic Games from 2000 to 2016. After retirement, he spoke openly about his struggles with depression and mental health, using his platform to reduce stigma around mental illness among athletes. His 2008 Beijing performance remains the single greatest individual achievement in Olympic history. The Olympic tradition that stretches back to ancient Greece has produced many legends, but Phelps's eight golds stand in a category of their own.