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Michael Phelps matched Mark Spitz's magical seven gold medals at a single Olympics today with a thrilling victory in the men's 100m butterfly.
Phelps, seventh at the turn, snatched victory by one-hundredth of a second over Serbia's Milorad Cavic, pounding the water in triumph and screaming with delight when he realized the enormity of his achievement.
"I was shocked at the end, it was kind of a little bit of a delayed reaction," said the American.
"I feel a little bit of everything -- relief, excitement, everything. I had to take my goggles off to make sure the '1' was next to my name."
The 23-year-old phenomenon, who had appeared invincible as he set six world records in winning his first six golds at the Water Cube, displayed the sheer force of his will as he made up a deficit of more than half a second in the final lap to win in 50.58sec.
Cavic had challenged Phelps even before the race began.
As the American took up his familiar pre-race stance alongside his block, facing the side of the pool, Cavic stood by his own block and faced him.
The two stood stock still and staring until the starter called them onto the blocks, but at the finish it was Cavic who blinked, missing out on gold in 50.59.
"When I saw the 50.58 and the 50.59 and I saw the '1' next to my name, that's when I sort of let my roar out," Phelps said.
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