The Beijinger: Day Five

Phelps good, Britain Great

In the 112-year history of the Games only four athletes had ever won as many as nine gold medals. The USA's Carl Lewis and Mark Spitz won lasting worldwide fame doing it; Finland's Paavo Nurmi and Russia's Larysa Latynina weren't quite so acclaimed (we couldn't U-S-A! U-S-A! possibly guess U-S-A! U-S-A! why) but at least they have a place in the Olympic annals.

This morning Michael Phelps won not just his 10th gold, but his 11th too, and did so with truly breathtaking ease. Or at least breathtaking for everyone watching. Phelps himself didn't seem to even break sweat. At 10.23am local time he eased home in (yet another) world record in the 200m butterfly. And less than an hour later he was leading his team out in the 4x200m freestyle. How many Americans does it take to win a relay? One, apparently. Phelps opened up a two-meter lead on the first length and the gap only grew from there. Oh yes, it was another world record.

The only things between Phelps and the indisputable 'greatest of all time' tag that would come with breaking the record for most golds at a single games (seven) are the Stars and Stripes speedos of Mark Spitz and the slippery tiles on the walk to the pool.

Phelps 5-2 Britain then. Team GB can take the same kind of desperate consolation being drawn on by CNN and other stateside networks covering the ever-worsening hooning they're being given in the medal table by China - we may be losing in the league, but we're ahead in the overall medal tally.

This morning Emma Pooley took some of the limelight away from team-mate Nicole Cooke by taking silver behind an American cyclist named (Kristin) Armstrong in the women's road time-trial. No shame in that. And yesterday Britain added a pair of bronzes with the horses in Hong Kong, the overall eventing team taking one and Tina Cook bagging the other in the show jumping. At Shunyi, as far from Hong Kong as the Games get, David Florence won silver with a fine final run in the C1 (solo canoe) slalom. Just three months ago Florence applied to become an astronaut with the European Space Agency, thus forcing headline writers across Britain to either resist or indulge their finest punning instincts, depending on their level of self-restraint.

What you missed overnight

British journalist detained by Beijing police John Ray of ITV News was detained by Beijing police after he covered a Free Tibet protest close to the city's main Olympic zone. He has since been released.

Pooley takes silver in cycling time-trial Great Britain's Emma Pooley was second in the women's road time-trial, picking up GB's second cycling medal of the Games. The winner of the first, Nicole Cooke, finished 15th.

Phelps wins two more gold medals Michael Phelps won his fourth and fifth gold medals with ridiculous ease, in the men's 200m butterfly and 4x200m freestyle relay, setting two more world records to boot.

Chinese gymnasts reign supreme China made it two out of two in the team finals, their women – sorry, girls – beating America in a keenly-fought competition.

Taiwan baseball player fails drugs test The IOC says pitcher Chang Tai-Shan is the latest sportsman to test positive for a banned substance.Diary

While David Florence was celebrating his silver medal yesterday, a lot of other eyes were on Benjamin Boukpeti, who won Togo's first ever Olympic medal with a bronze in the K1 slalom. The world's hacks were understandably thirsty for the story of this piece of history. The only problem? Boukpeti had lived in France all his life, and only ever visited Togo once. Undeterred the hacks asked Boukpeti what he thought of his time in Togo. He said he'd been too young to recall. Asked again, and again, Boukpeti finally fed them this gem: "I remember my brother had a red ball which he refused to leave behind for my cousins to play with, he threw a huge tantrum. Other than that my mother tells me I mistook every black man there for my father."

On similar lines, there were plenty of journalists at this morning's Georgia v Russia beach volleyball game. You might expect the Georgian duo were extra pleased with their victory because they were playing the country they have been fighting over the last few days. Only, the Georgian duo were actually from Brazil.

Li Ning has had a pretty good week. Not only did the former gymnast get to fly around the Bird's Nest on Friday night before lighting the Olympic flame, a spike in the share prices of his company, Li Ning, has earned him around £15m.

There's trouble brewing in the baseball competition which started today. The US, who play Korea in their opener, have kicked up a right old fuss over the refusal of their opponents to name their starting pitcher the night before the game, a common courtesy in Major League Baseball.

The best from our Beijing blogs

Why swimmers keep hammering their way to new heights What is it with all these world records in the Water Cube? Swimming guru Robert Kitson thinks he has the answer.

From Phelps' shadow emerges perhaps a greater American idolHe's not done there either, Robert Kitson that is. He also wants to tell you all about Eric Shanteau, the American swimmer diagnosed with testicular cancer.

The songs may strike false note but Games are in harmony The Beijing Olympics kicked straight into top gear and after four and a half days it shows little sign of letting the pace drop, reckons Steve Cram, and he should know.

Passion by numbers is the order of the day There is nothing more loathed than a Mexican Wave, but the Olympics abounds with such staged dramatics, says Jonathan Watts.

A cultural revolution to make London sit up and take notice China's elderly exercising in Beijing parks provides London's organizers with their legacy for 2012, writes page-12 stunnah Marina Hyde.

What's coming up

WEDNESDAY Sailing (6am/1pm)Ben Ainslie and the yngling trio of Sarah Ayton, Sara Webb and Pippa Wilson return to the water in Qingdao after a rest day.

Rowing (7.45am BST/2.45pm Bei)How sick must the British men's four be of hearing the words "no Pinsent or Redgrave but ..."? Their chance to make their own names comes a step closer in the semi-finals today. Also on the lake in Shunyi, highly-rated single sculler Alan Campbell is in a semi.

Boxing (1.30pm/8.30pm)After bantamweight Joe Murray's disputed exit, Britain's team captain David Price hopes to get the boxers' Games back on track in his super-heavyweight bout with the Russian World No1 Islam Timuryiev.

Baseball (Midday/7pm)In a sport making its last Olympic appearance for a while, defending champs Cuba take on what could be their toughest test against Japan.

THURSDAY MORNING Swimming (3am/10am)There must be something wrong with the schedule, as it claims Michael Phelps isn't taking part in any finals. Instead most of our gaze will be directed on Eric Shanteau in the 200m breaststroke, and Rebecca Adlington et al in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Boxing (6.45am/1.45pm)Billy Joe Saunders, so impressive in his first bout, will have his work cut out when he comes up against the fighter considered by many to be Cuba's finest at present, Carlos Banteaux.