Michael Phelps won his record number of medals at the Beijing Olympics in swimming. At the 2008 Games, he won eight gold medals in pool-swimming events, surpassing Mark Spitz’s record of seven golds at one Olympics, set in 1972.
Phelps’s eight victories covered individual races and relays, including freestyle, butterfly and individual medley events. His performance was especially dramatic in the 100-meter butterfly, where he touched the wall just ahead of Serbia’s Milorad Čavić. He also contributed to the United States relay teams, whose medals counted toward his record haul.
The wording can cause a small confusion: Phelps’s Beijing achievement was a record eight gold medals, not a record number of medals in every Olympic sport. Swimming is the event category, while diving, gymnastics and athletics are separate Olympic disciplines. Phelps later extended his overall Olympic medal record at London 2012 and finished his career with 28 Olympic medals, including 23 gold.