It went swimmingly

Sunday, Aug. 10

400 IM

World record: 4:03.84

Former record: 4:05.25, Phelps, June 29, 2008

Mark Spitz time: Didn’t compete

Second place: Laszlo Cseh (Hungary), 4:06:16

Recap: It was really pretty effortless. Phelps trailed at the first 100 but then kicked it into overdrive to make it not much of a race.

Phelps on Phelps: “I wasn’t comfortable after the first 200. . . . I think it made my breaststroke stronger . . . coming home in the freestyle it’s all adrenaline.”

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Monday, Aug. 11

4 x 100 Freestyle Relay

World record: 3:08.24

Former record: 3:12.23, U.S., Aug. 10, 2008

Spitz time: 3:26.42

Second place: France, 3:08.32

Recap: Phelps was not the story of this race. It was Jason Lezak of Irvine, who swam down French star and then-world-record holder Alain Bernard on the anchor leg to keep the Phelps dream alive.

Phelps on Phelps: “This morning, [Coach] Bob [Bowman] had said the French was saying some stuff, talking a little bit of trash. It fired me up more than anything else.”

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Tuesday, Aug. 12

200 Freestyle

World record: 1:42.96

Former record: 1:43.86, Phelps, March 27, 2007

Spitz time: 1:52.78

Second place: Taewhan Park (South Korea), 1:44.85

Recap: It was pretty simple. Phelps was ahead at every mark, swimming a 25.98 for the first 50 meters. It was a walk in the park.

Phelps on Phelps: “I wanted to jump on the first 100 just to see what happened. The guys in the middle of the pool really wouldn’t be able to see me. By the time they did, hopefully I had enough ground where I could hold them off.”

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Wednesday, Aug. 13

200 Butterfly

World record: 1:52.03

Former record: 1:52.09, Phelps, March 28, 2007

Spitz time: 2:00.70

Second place: Cseh, 1:52.70

Recap: The race was closer than people imagined, especially as Phelps had trouble seeing. Just one of those pesky equipment malfunctions. But in the end, if he didn’t have the vision, he had the instinct to win by three-quarters of a second.

Phelps on Phelps: “I couldn’t see anything for the last 100, my goggles were pretty much filling up with water. To be honest, I was having trouble seeing the walls.”

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Wednesday, Aug. 13

4 X 200 Freestyle Relay

World record: 6:58.56

Former record: 7:03.24, U.S., March 30, 2007

Spitz time: 7:35.78

Second place: Russia, 7:03.70

Recap: The U.S. team obliterated the world record. In terms of suspense, think of Secretariat winning the Belmont Stakes.

Phelps on Phelps: “We wanted to break seven minutes. That was our goal going into today. . . . It definitely feels good to be the first group, first country to ever dip under the seven-minute barrier.”

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Friday, Aug. 14

200 IM

World record: 1:54.23

Former record: 1:54.80, Phelps, July 4, 2008

Spitz time: Didn’t compete

Second place: Cseh, 1:56.52

Recap: It wasn’t so much this race that slowed him down, it was that he had very little time between the medal ceremony and the semifinals of the 100 butterfly: about seven minutes.

Phelps on Phelps: “I had no time. The [gold] medal was in my warmup jacket.”

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Saturday, Aug. 15

100 Butterfly

World record: Didn’t break it

Phelps time: 50.58

Spitz time: 54.27

Second place: Milorad Cavic (Serbia), 50.59

Recap: In the second incredible finish, Phelps out-touched Cavic at the finish. It was so close the result was protested by the Serbian delegation. Phelps was lucky to win this one.

Phelps on Phelps: “When I did chop the last stroke, I thought that had cost me the race. But it was actually the opposite. If I had glided, I would have been way too long. I took short, faster strokes to try to get my hand on the wall. I ended up making the right decision.”

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Sunday, Aug. 16

4 X 100 Medley Relay

World record: 3:29.34

Former record: 3:30.68, U.S., Aug. 21, 2004

Spitz time: 3:48.16

Second place: Australia, 3:30.04

Recap: Aaron Peirsol led off in the backstroke, giving the U.S. a 0.2-second lead. Brendan Hansen lost the lead and Phelps took over in the butterfly, giving the U.S. the lead again. Once again, Lezak is stellar and Michael Phelps makes history.

Phelps on Phelps: “It’s been such an unbelievable roller coaster. It’s been such an unbelievable ride. With so many people saying it couldn’t be done, all it took was a little imagination. I don’t know what to feel right now. It’s so emotional. All I want to do is go see my mom.”