By Peter Auf der Heyde Aug 17, 2008, 7:08 GMT
Beijing - For a man who has just become the most successful athlete in the history of the Olympic Games Michael Phelps' expectations for the immediate future are pretty ordinary.
'I just want to hug my mom, spend some time with my family and lie in my own bed and relax, if just for ten minutes.
'When I went to her after the victory ceremony she just started crying and then my sister started crying and then I started crying,' the 23-year-old said Sunday after winning his eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with victory in world record time with the US 4x100m medley relay team.
His eight gold medals take him past Mark Spitz's record from Munich 1972, where the American swimmer won seven gold, while Phelps' overall tally of 14 gold makes him the most successful Olympian in history, five clear of four athletes who won nine gold medals overall.
'I never wanted to be the second Mark Spitz. I always wanted to be the first Michael Phelps,' he said, before admitting that Spitz's achievement had helped him.
'I am thankful for him having done what he did. In the past few years it made those days easier when I wanted to give up. I looked at Spitz and realized that I wanted to do it.'
He admitted that there was a time in the last few days, where he felt really tired. 'After the semi-final of the 100m butterfly I was going through the mixed zone and I thought: 'Oh my gosh, I am really tired.'
'But what helped me close all of this out was that I had plenty of time to recover. I could take ice baths and I got massages, so that helped. There was also time that I could just sit on my bed or watch movies.'
Phelps said he must have been tested for drugs about 40 times in the last few weeks. 'After every final I was tested, at a few heats, in the run-up to the Olympics. It's been a bunch of times, but it is part of the game and it is good for the sport.'
The superstar said he was going to stay in Beijing until August 21 before returning to America. 'And then I am going to take a vacation where I just sit around. I want to hang out with my friends and I want to have no obligations. I want to be on my clock.'
Phelps said that he would, after enjoying a holiday, discuss his next plans with his coach Bob Bowman.
'I will definitely be returning to my hometown of Baltimore. I am really looking forward to that and to see all my friends again. We will both be returning to the club where we started, the North Baltimore Aquatic club.'
He said that he would try to make the US swimming team for the world championships in Rome next year. 'My mom has told me to better make the team for Rome because she wants to go there.
'So now I have my mom's pressure and I have to make sure that she can go there.'
Phelps said that he thought that - like the Chinese, for whom eight is a lucky number - he would also believe in the number from now on.
'I guess it is my lucky number too. Seeing all the eights at the opening ceremony I thought that maybe it was meant to be. And then everything just seemed to fall into place.
'I think this has just been the best week of my whole life. It has just been so terrific and I am so happy. I have had so many greats moments in China, both in the pool and out of it. They are moments that I will never forget.'
But it is not only Phelps who will never forget Beijing 2008. He has given millions of swimming fans and those who became swimming fans because of him, unforgettable memories.
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