Michael Phelps wins seventh gold medal

Minutes ago at the Water Cube in Beijing, China, U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the 2008 games, tying him with fellow American Mark Spitz for the most gold medals won at any one Olympics.

Phelps won the men's one hundred meter butterfly by a hundredth of a second, coming from behind to take the lead and the gold.

In less than forty eight hours, Phelps will attempt to surpass Spitz' record and become the first human to win eight gold medals at one Olympics.

He'll be competing in the butterfly leg of the men's four by one hundred meter medley for the United States. The relay is Phelps' only remaining event.

As New York Times reporter Jason Stallman writes, Phelps has done a great job of living up to all the pre-Olympics hype:

Phelps came to Beijing with heavy expectations on his shoulders. He had won six golds and two bronze medals in the 2004 Games in Athens, falling short of his goal. But in Beijing, when the pressure is on, Phelps seems to turn it on.

He smashed his world record in the 400-meter individual medley on Sunday and set an American record on his leadoff 100 in the Americans’ record-setting 4x100 freestyle relay on Monday. He also set records in the 200-meter butterfly, the 4x200-meter freestyle relay and the 200-meter individual medley.

There is no guarantee that the United States men's team will take the gold in Sunday's medley, which encompasses the four main disciplines of swimming (backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle). The team will have to deliver a flawless performance for Phelps to earn his eighth gold.

All of us at NPI wish Team USA the best of luck this weekend.