Melbourne
American swimmer Michael Phelps ruled the world swimming championships this week, winning gold in all seven of his races and breaking five world records in the process. “His performance this week was the greatest performance of all time,” said Mark Schubert, coach of Team USA. Phelps, 21, started each race with the same routine: listening to Young Jeezy’s hip-hop song “Go Getta” on his iPod, then climbing up to the starting block and flapping his arms. Mark Spitz, also an American, is the only other swimmer to have won seven gold medals at an international event; his sweep came at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
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