"I said he could win six or seven, with a little luck maybe eight. That 100 butterfly race, the way he got on that wall, everything lined up for him perfectly. He is an incredible racer," Hackett said.

Phelps won that 100 fly race by the smallest margin -- 0.01 seconds over the runner-up Serbian swimmer. The Serbian team filed an official protest, but had to settle for a silver when the timing system also seemed to be with the phenom.

"Michael Phelps is the greatest ever. He was always first in the race. It was a question to share or not to share first place. Everything we saw, the first arrival was Michael Phelps," said FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu, when explaining the 100m fly race dispute.

Michael Phelps of the United States smiles during the awarding ceremony of the Men's 4X100M Medlay Relay final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Phelps won his eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics swimming events on Sunday, breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals won at a single Games in 1972. [Chen Kai/Xinhua]

Looking back, Phelps admitted there was a bit of luck.

"I guess eight is a lucky number for me, too, now. Seeing 8/8/08 and the opening ceremony started at 8/8/08. Maybe it was meant to be," he said.

Starting swimming at the age of five, Phelps built up from his perfect physique, with an armspan longer than his height, to be the best swimmer in the world.

"I think I'm lucky to have everything I have. I'm lucky to have the talent, the drive and the excitement about the sport. I'm fortunate for every quality that I have," he said.

In 2000, Phelps made his Olympic debut as the youngest athlete on the U.S. team and placed fifth in the 200m butterfly. Months later, he set a new best in the event as the youngest man to break a world record. He won six gold medals and two bronzes in Athens, and seven golds in the Melbourne World Championships last year.

In Beijing, the swimming icon rocketed to another career peak and he was filled with emotions when he looked back at what he has done.

"I've dreamed of a lot of things, and written down a lot of goals. And this one (eight golds) was the biggest one I had ever written down," he said.

"My Mom and I still joked that in the middle school, I had an English teacher saying I'd never be successful. It's from little things like that," he said, elaborating his thoughts when he savored the golds.

The past week has been one of the most emotional one for Phelps. "I just wanted to make sure I took every single moment in, every single swim in, and every moment I had with my team-mates in, so I could remember that. I've had so many great moments here in China," he said.

Wrapping up his Beijing trip, Phelps planned to have the break that he always wanted.

"One of the things I'm looking forward to is going back to the States. I just want to lay in my own bed for five minutes at least and just relax."

"I woke up this morning and saw two of my friends with some fake gold medals around their neck and everyone has gone crazy. I'm excited to seeing them and I look forward not doing anything, just sitting," he said.

Looking into future goals, Phelps said he wanted to keep racing.

"I like to try some other events, maybe not do some of the events I did here. My coach Bob (Bowman) said he wants to start fresh, do things he hasn't done before, trying new training methods," he said.

In the long term, he wants to continue to raise the bar for swimming.

"The goal that I have and working towards is in progress, (but) it's going to take some time to really be where I wanted to be," he said. Phelps' sensational swimming races have skyrocketed the TV ratings in his country.

US swimmers Michael Phelps (R) and Aaron Peirsol celebrate after their team winning the men's 4x100m medley relay final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. US swimmers set a new world record of the event in a time of 3 minutes 29.34 seconds and won the gold medal. [Fan Jun/Xinhua]

"I don't want the sport to be an every-four-year sport. We are given much attention every four years, but there isn't really as much exposure for us," he said.

"I want to get people involved in the sport and be aware of what we're doing. In the upcoming years we will see it happen more and more," he said.

"Swimming has changed my life and allowed me to do so many things. To enable the next generation to do more, I can't even imagine what it will be like. I'm excited to watch it change," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2008)