Eight gold medals in eight events. Eight Olympic and seven world swimming records. Fourteen victories in two Summer Games.
The grandest of Olympic champions, Michael Phelps, churned his way to immortality, nailing an unprecedented eight consecutive gold after powering the United States to victory in the 4 x 100 meter medley relay at the Water Cube.
It was billed as a team relay race, but it was only about one man.
"Everything was accomplished," Phelps said. "Doing all best times, winning every race."
It was a feat that many believed couldn't be done, and he did it in emphatic style.
"The greatest thing is proving nothing is impossible," Phelps said. "So many people said it couldn't be done, but all it takes is an imagination. That is something I have learned."
With the Americans trailing after two legs in Sunday's race, the notoriously slow-starting Phelps swept his team into the lead with a world-record split in the butterfly leg and then watched teammate Jason Lezak anchor the United States to victory, crowning Phelps as the greatest Olympic athlete ever.
When Phelps dived into the water for the butterfly the third of four legs the Americans were behind Japan and Australia.
But Phelps, swimming the same distance and with galloping butterfly strokes that he used to win his seventh gold a day earlier, powered to the front on his return lap, passing off to Lezak with the Americans in front.
Australia's Eamon Sullivan tried to chase Lezak down and appeared to be gaining as they came to the wall. But Lezak touched in 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds Phelps seventh world record in his personal Great Haul of China.
The Aussies took silver in 3:30.04, also under the old world record, while Japan held on for the bronze.
"This is a dream come true," said Phelps, who received a special commendation from the International Olympic Committee at the awards ceremony of the Beijing Olympics last swimming event.
"I've dreamed of a lot of things and written down a lot of goals. And this one was the biggest one I had ever written down. You can imagine anything, to work through having ups and having downs, to accomplish everything you have ever dreamed of it feels good."
The tip of his tongue between his trembling lips and his eyes moist from all the drama of the past eight days, the 23-year-old Phelps tried to sing the Star Spangled Banner but hardly could. He just stood there with teammates Lezak, backstroker Aaron Peirsol, and breaststroker Brendan Hansen, his toothy smile only intermittently showing.
"I guess, what I've done was just sinking in," Phelps said at a news conference. "I just saw mom for one minute, we just hugged and she started crying. And then my sister started crying. I'm glad I've been able to accomplish everything I’ve wanted."
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