Phelps wins 18th gold medal in his last Olympic swim
Michael Phelps claimed a record 18th gold medal and emerged as the most successful Olympian of all time.
American swimming sensation Michael Phelps collected his 18th gold medal today in the final race of his Olympic career.
The New York Times reported Phelps swam the butterfly leg of the 400-meter medley relay at the London Aquatic Centre. Japan came second and Australia took bronze.
The winning time of 3 minutes 29.35 seconds missed tying the Olympic record by a hundredth of a second.
It was a triumphant end to Phelps' world-record breaking Olympic career, who announced before the start of the London games that he was retiring, Businessweek said.
“I’m not warming down, that’s for sure,” the 27-year-old yelled to reporters after the race.
Phelps was jubilant as he stood on the podium with his teammates, Matthew Grevers, Brendan Hansen and Nathan Adrian. He leaves the London 2012 Games with 22 Olympic medals overall.
Also today, Businessweek reported that the U.S. women’s team won the 400-meter medley relay in a world record time of 3 minutes, 52.05 second, giving Colorado High School senior Missy Franklin, 17, her fourth gold of the games.