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 There's just no stopping Michael Phelps.
The Baltimore Bullet picked up his seventh gold medal in the Beijing Games to equal American swimmer Mark Spitz's 36-year old record of seven Olympic medals.
Phelps equalled the Olympics record of 50.58 secs. while winning the 100m butterfly event by a disputed split (0.1) second decision over Milorad Cavic of Serbia at the futuristic Water Cube swimming stadium on Saturday.
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| Michael Phelps won his seventh gold on Saturday GEtty Images | Apart from suffering from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the swimming phenomenon, who now has a total of 13 Olympic medals in his cupboard, has abnormally long arms and may be afflicted by a condition called Marfan's Syndrome.
All eyes will be on Phelps today as he dives in the pool in the 4 x 100m medley in his quest for ultimate glory in the foreseeable future â an awesome eighth gold medal at an Olympics.
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It is not generally known that American swimmer Rebecca Soni, who smashed the world record in winning the 200m breaststroke at the Beijing Olympics, underwent heart surgery two years ago.
The 21-year old University of Southern California communications student, daughter of recent eastern European immigrants, was in a state of shock after she defeated favourite Liesel Jones of Australia.
"It's been a long road to get here," she said, holding back tears after the victory ceremony. "I cannot believe what has just happened. I've won a gold medal."
Making light of her medical condition, Soni said: "It was a small heart procedure to take care of things and get back in training."
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Britta Steffen, who won Germany's first swimming gold of the Beijing Olympics by a fingertip, pegging back Australian Libby Trickett in the women's freestyle, almost quit swimming after the last Olympics.
She took a year off from the sport for psychological help and returned to the sport in August 2005 after which she dominated the 2006 European championships, where she won four golds.
Steffen's rivalry with Trickett continued when she broke Trickett's old record, only to have the Australian snatch it back in March this year.
Steffen, who won the butterfly gold earlier, only made the final of the freestyle event after a lucky break, when China's Pang Jiaying was disqualified to enable the German to be elevated to eighth position from ninth.
No sooner had they completed the race in Beijing on Friday than the Australian reached over the lane rope and offered Steffen a congratulatory hug.
"Full credit to her", Steffen said. "I'm glad she was there. In an Olympic final you want to compete against the best. It would have been difficult without her." | 
