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*U.S. teammates win record eighth medal for Phelps*
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ATHENS, Greece (Ticker) - An unselfish move by Michael Phelps
led to an unprecedented performance by his American teammates.

After stepping aside as a member of the 400 meter medley relay
team, Phelps collected his record eighth swimming medal of the
Summer Olympics as the United States set a world mark without
him Saturday.

Phelps had won medals in his first seven events - five gold and
two bronze.  But after garnering gold in Friday's 100 butterfly,
he made the stunning announcement that he would not swim in the
medley relay, offering his spot to Ian Crocker.

"It is exciting to be on the other side of the pool as well,"
Phelps said.  "To lead a few cheers is very exciting, too."

Swimming the butterfly third leg, Crocker clocked 50.28 seconds,
maintaining the pace established by Aaron Piersol and Brendan
Hansen.  A blistering 47.58 by anchor Jason Lezak allowed the
Americans to finish in 3 minutes, 30.68 seconds and break their
record set just over a year ago.

"I'm proud that I gave a swimmer like Ian this chance," Phelps
said.  "After the relay, we hugged each other. It felt like I
was part of the race."

"It seemed like a gift too big to accept, but I'm really happy
the way it ended up," Crocker said.

The U.S. beat Germany by nearly three seconds as it won the
event for the fifth straight time.  Japan took the bronze.

Although Phelps did not swim the final, he did compete in
qualifications, making him eligible for a medal.  That gave him
"The Great Eight" as he eclipsed swimming legends Mark Spitz,
who won seven gold in 1972, and Matt Biondi, who claimed five
gold, a silver and a bronze in 1988.

The only other athlete to win eight medals in one Olympics was
Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Dityatin, who won four gold, three
silver and one bronze in 1980 at Moscow, in an Olympics
boycotted by the United States and most Western allies.

Competition came to a close at the Aquatic Center, where the
U.S. led with 27 medals, including 11 gold, a bit short of its
2000 haul of 33 and 14.  Australia, powered by Ian Thorpe and
the departing Petria Thomas, had 15 and seven.

"I don't look at gold medals. I look at the times," U.S. coach
Eddie Reese said.  "What I look for is effort, good and bad
conditions and how they look after each other. This is one of
the most phenomenal teams I've ever coached."

"I think that we had one of the best U.S. swimming teams ever,"
Phelps said.  "The feeling of being a member of such a great
team is unbelievable."

Phelps' phenomenal week overshadowed a record-setting
performance by another American swimmer - Jenny Thompson.
Competing in her fourth Olympics, Thompson collected her 12th
career swimming medal as she also eclipsed Spitz and Biondi.

However, the record-breaking medal was a silver in the 400
medley relay as Team USA was overtaken by the Aussies, who also
set a world record by winning in 3:57.32.  Germany took bronze.

It was a bittersweet farewell for Thompson, 31.  She came here
needing two medals to break the record and got them.  But both
came in relays where she gave away the lead and cost the
Americans gold.

Thompson had an earlier shot at the record in the 50 freestyle
but was outclassed as she finished seventh.  Dutchwoman Inge de
Bruijn defended her Olympic gold, clocking 24.58 to edge Malia
Metella of France and Lisbeth Linton of Australia

Australia's Grant Hackett repeated as gold medalist in the
exhausting 1,500, winning in an Olympic record time of 14:43.40
as he held off American Larsen Jensen.

The 27 medals won by American swimmers matches the total won by
all Australian athletes in Athens and trails only Russia,
Germany, China and the United States in the overall medal
standings.

st 08-21-04 17:45 et