By Peter Auf der Heyde and Dietmar Fuchs Aug 18, 2008, 12:19 GMT
Beijing - American swimming superstar Michael Phelps, who won an unprecedented eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics and became the most successful Olympian in the process, on Monday said he had no regrets having dedicated so much of his life to swimming.
He said he did not think that he was living a life that was any different from other teenagers. 'I consider what I did growing up normal. That is what I wanted to do,' he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)in an exclusive interview.
'Everything that I ended up sacrificing or missing I will have the opportunity to do when I finish my career and when I retire and when I am done. I don't really see myself giving up much because I am experiencing so much.'
The 23-year-old, whose eight gold medals in the Beijing Water Cube took him one past the record established in 1972 by American swimmer Mark Spitz and took his overall tally from Athens and Beijing to 14 golds and two bronze - five more than four athletes who have nine golds overall - said that he regarded each medal as special.
'They are very special. Those are the things that stay with you forever. Once you are an Olympic medalist, you are always an Olympic medalist,' he told dpa.
'It is different from world records, world records can be broken and they are usually broken, but no one can take an Olympic gold medal away from you.'
He said he did not know what sets him apart from other swimmers.
'I dont know what makes me different - it beats me. I do what I love. I love to compete and I love to swim. I have very, very high goals that I have set for myself and that's what really motivates me and keeps me going strong.'
Phelps, who broke seven world records during his eight finals, including three with his relay team-mates, seemed much more emotional after winning relay gold than when he won individual finals.
He explained: 'With a relay it is not all you. You have to have four good swims in order to win and it takes team work there is so much more excitement with the teamwork.'
Your Talkback on this Story