Olympics: Phelps Blows the Competition Out of the Water

The greatest Olympians always deliver on the big occasion and Michael Phelps is emerging as the most reliable of the lot. By Wednesday morning he could well have joined the most exclusive club of all as he seeks to surpass Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz, Larissa Latynina and Paavo Nurmi as the most prolific gold medalist in history.

Assuming he maintains the startling standard he set in his opening event, it is a question of when rather than if. Yet if there was a potential stumbling block in his plan for world domination in Beijing, it presented itself in the 400m individual medley, perhaps the most grueling race in his packed schedule. Even Phelps was nervous in advance, involuntary "chills" multiplying down his spine as he warmed up.

When the moment came, however, he was swiftly back in greased lightning mode, shattering his own world record by the eye-watering margin of 1.41 seconds.

It was more than enough to strengthen the suspicion that Spitz's 36-year record of seven golds in a single Games (and tally of nine overall) is under terminal threat.

Phelps picked up six last time around in Athens and, at this rate, will end up with more gold around his neck than P Diddy on a serious night out. For such a serial winner he was unusually emotional afterwards, and not just because he had exchanged smiling post-race nods with the watching US president George Bush.

From his rivals' perspective there was an ominous edge - "I can't express enough how excited I am to have started off with the time I posted in that event" - to his enthusiasm.Some of his joy, admittedly, was also a product of an early-morning deal brokered with his coach Bob Baldwin that he could retire from 400m medley competition if he broke the world record.

"Hopefully I may not be swimming it again," he sighed, offering a rare glimpse into the backstage pain required to keep so many aquatic balls in the air simultaneously.

As Fred Trueman once observed in a different context, some record-breaking feats require as much stamina as skill and Phelps already knows it. "I'll tell you what," said Fred, musing on whether anyone would surpass his then-record Test wicket haul, "whoever does it will be bloody tired."

Even a man with Phelps' freakishly long arm span will be feeling the strain by the time these Games are over. For that reason, Phelps admits he cannot afford to dwell on this opening salvo for long. "I have to put that race behind me and act like it never happened," he insisted solemnly. "I've got so many tough races ahead of me."

He did confess, however, to a twinge of anxiety around the 150m mark when he glanced up and saw his compatriot Ryan Lochte and the eventual silver medalist, Laszlo Cseh of Hungary, right with him. The upshot was the quickest breaststroke split-time of his career and a smooth freestyle finish, which left the rest trailing in his porpoise-like wake. The relentless champion was even smiling to himself as he turned for the final length, further proof he senses almost anything is within his telescopic reach.

Not only does he have another couple of feet of rippling torso where most mere mortals keep their love handles but he possesses the sort of innate confidence, not to mention close-cropped haircut, that Kevin Pietersen might recognize.

"I think I'm as prepared as I can be at this moment," confirmed Phelps, safe in the knowledge he has blown his competitors out of the water before some of them have settled on their blocks. "Any time you think you are close to reaching him he jumps to another level," complained Cseh. It could become a familiar lament in the coming days.

There seems likely to be a spate of records inside the state-of-the-art Water Cube to judge from the first day of finals. Australia's Stephanie Rice followed Phelps's lead by setting a new world record en route to gold in the women's 400m individual medley, with Britain's Hannah Miley finishing a creditable fifth.

Alexander Oen set a new Olympic record in the men's 100m backstroke and the Dutch women's 100m freestyle relay team enjoyed a similar triumph. It meant a silver medal for the silver-flecked 41-year-old American Dara Torres, the oldest swimmer at these Games and a competitor who has been around long enough to recognize a 'fast' pool when she sees one.