By Erik Matuszewski and Dan Baynes
Last Updated: August 13, 2008 05:10 EDT
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Phelps broke the career gold-medal record at the Olympics today as China added three more titles to improve to a Games-leading 17.
Phelps lifted his gold-medal total to 11 with world record- breaking wins in the 200-meter butterfly and 800 freestyle relay. He moved within three victories of surpassing fellow American Mark Spitz's single-Games mark of seven golds set in 1972 and will swim three more events in Beijing.
Phelps won the butterfly in a record time of 1 minute, 52.03 seconds after his goggles filled with water at the start. That victory pulled him ahead of the nine golds of Spitz, Carl Lewis, Paavo Nurmi and Larissa Latynina on the career list.
``When I was on the awards stand I started thinking about it and that's when I started tearing up,'' Phelps, 23, told reporters. ``To know that I did it, at the top, with so many great athletes, to be at these Olympics, it's pretty amazing.''
Less than an hour after the butterfly, Phelps swam the lead-off leg as the U.S. won the freestyle relay and sliced more than four seconds off the world record.
China reached 17 gold medals -- a mark which took more than a week in Athens four years ago -- after capitalizing on mistakes by the U.S. in the women's gymnastics team event.
It also won in shooting and diving, where Wang Feng and Qin Kai took the men's synchronized springboard in a packed Water Cube. Liu Chunhong won the 69-kilogram weightlifting with a world record combined score of 286kg.
Swiss First
The Americans are second with 10 golds following Kristin Armstrong's victory in the women's road time trial and lead the total medals standings with 28 to the host's 25. Fabian Cancellara won the men's time trial to give Switzerland its first gold medal in Beijing.
Seven other gold medals will be awarded today in weightlifting, wrestling, judo and fencing.
China's women won their first team gymnastics gold to add to the men's victory yesterday. U.S. chances ended when Alicia Sacramone fell off the balance beam and slipped over during the floor routine.
``I guess let the pressure get to me,'' Sacramone said.
Martha Karolyi, the U.S. team coordinator, said Sacramone's ``concentration was bothered'' by a delay before her beam exercise. No complaints were filed by USA Gymnastics.
Shooting Gold
Chen Ying gave the host nation its third shooting title in Beijing, winning the women's 25-meter pistol with an Olympic record score.
Six swimming world records fell this morning, including in all four finals, to make it 16 so far at Beijing's Water Cube. That's two more than in the Sydney 2000 Games and twice as many as in Athens four years ago.
Italy's Federica Pellegrini won the women's 200 freestyle in 1:54.82, adding to a silver in Athens, when she became the youngest Italian to win an Olympic medal.
``What came into my mind was `finally, finally,''' Pellegrini said after securing Italy's fourth gold in Beijing. ``I have been expecting to win for the last four years.''
Stephanie Rice of Australia completed a sweep of the 200 and 400 women's medley titles, edging Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe by 0.14 second in the shorter distance today in 2:08.45. She also broke the 400 world record three days ago.
``I felt a lot less pressure going into it because the 400 I know is going to hurt so much more than the 200,'' Rice said.
`Final Tomorrow'
Alain Bernard of France swam a record 47.20 seconds in a 100 freestyle semifinal, then Australia's Eamon Sullivan went 0.15 second faster in the next heat. Sullivan had broken Bernard's record in the lead-off leg of the 400 freestyle relay final two days ago.
``The most important is the final tomorrow,'' Bernard said.
Phelps, with water in his goggles, trailed Moss Burmester of New Zealand by .03 second at the 50-meter split in his butterfly race, then took the lead and was under world-record pace the rest of the way. After the finish, he ripped off his cap and goggles and threw them onto the pool deck.
``I couldn't see anything for the last 100, my goggles pretty much filled up with water, it just kept getting worse and worse through the race,'' Phelps said.
In the 800 relay, Phelps put the U.S. on course for a victory by 5.14 seconds over Russia. Phelps's history-making win was watched by several members of the U.S. men's basketball team, including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, who posed for photos with the swimmer's mother before the finals.
Away from the sports arenas, Australian officials said a rowing team doctor was unharmed when a bus he was traveling in collided with a van. Three Chinese in the van were critically injured, the Australian Olympic Committee said, adding that there were no Australian rowers on the bus.
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