Michael Phelps trouncing his rivals is always something fantastic to see, and here in Beijing it took your breath away to watch him so often leave everyone else for dead.

But the races which stick most vividly in my mind are the two in which gold appeared to have escaped him.

First of those was the 4×100 freestyle relay. I thought the race was lost for the U.S. when Frenchman Alain Bernard turned for the last length nearly a second up. But Jason Lezak had other ideas and snatched victory with the swim of a lifetime. I’ll never forget the sight of Phelps roaring his joy and release.

Then there was Miroslav Cavic reaching for gold in the 100 fly, only for Phelps, charging through the faster, to swing his arms over, hit the wall first in that final lunge and win by just one hundredth of a second. I’d expected Phelps to catch him earlier but thought, at the death, he’d run out of time to do it.

The next day Phelps made it eight in the medley relay and I had been lucky enough to witness each movement of his swimming symphony.

Swimming is my sporting passion. I’d been in Munich for my first Olympics in 1972 but was covering gymnastics and couldn’t get to the pool nearby to see any of Mark Spitz’s seven golden swims. Thirty-six years on, it was all the sweeter to watch Phelps take his place as arguably the greatest Olympian of them all.

I may have missed the seven but I got the eight.

Kevin Fylan adds: This is the sixth in our series of snapshots from the Beijing Games, where Reuters reporters give their thoughts on what it was like to be there at the key moments of the Olympics.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 1: Matt Emmons, by Erik Kirschbaum here.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 2: Matthias Steiner, by Sophie Hardach here.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 3: Usain Bolt, by Paul Majendie here.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 4: Matthew Mitcham, by Emma Graham-Harrison here.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 5: Fair play gets forgotten, by Lindsay Beck here.

One more to come.

PHOTO: Michael Phelps of the U.S. competes during his team’s victory in the men’s 4×100 meters medley relay swimming final during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Aquatics Centre, August 17, 2008. REUTERS/David Gray

The Beijing Olympic Games closed on Sunday, as China passed on the flame to London.

Former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch was in the habit of describing each Games as “the best ever”, with the notable exception of Atlanta in 1996.

His successor Jacques Rogge does not go in for such superlatives. He described Athens in 2004 as “unforgettable, dream Games” and on Sunday he pronounced the verdict on Beijing, saying they had provided “an exceptional Games”.

Perhaps that was a fitting phrase for an Olympics that began with an opening ceremony on an unparalleled scale and went on to provide highlights that will live on in the memory of all of us.

American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight gold medals, with a little help from his friends on the relay team, to break the record of seven at a single Games, achieved by Mark Spitz in 1972. Usain Bolt took the breath from all of us in the Bird’s Nest stadium when he won the 100 and 200 metres, breaking the world record in each.

Matthias Steiner broke our hearts by offering up his weightlifting gold to the wife he lost in a car crash, while Matt Emmons made us all gasp when for the second Olympics in succession he blew a certain gold medal with a ridiculous mistake on his final shot.

But were they the best Games ever? China provided us with a wonderful experience at and away from the venues and I will never forget the friendliness of the legions of volunteers, and the ordinary Chinese people too.

One thing that did get me after a while is that this was a Games that was taken extremely seriously, by everyone (apart from Usain Bolt).

Faster, Higher, Stronger goes the Olympic motto, and China seemed determined to host a Games with those goals in mind. They did it too, but I sometimes longed for an Eric the Eel in the pool, or even a cock-up in the organisation, just to prove that not even the Chinese are perfect when it comes to running a big event.

The short segment given to London 2012 during the closing ceremony promised a much more modest scale and perhaps a touch of irony and self-deprecation, what with the umbrellas and a double decker bus. I almost expected Austin Powers to come somersaulting out.

For now, though, let’s focus on China. The Games were brilliant, but were they the best ever? Please let us know in the comments.

PHOTO: Fireworks explode during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium, August 24, 2008. REUTERS/Claro Cortes

Join us for the 16th and last podcast from the Beijing Olympics. We cast an eye back over the best moments of the Games, discuss Beijing’s world ranking and look ahead to quite a contrast with the next Olympics in London.

Julian Linden, Belinda Goldsmith, Nick Mulvenney and Robert F Woodward join me for the festivities. And Laura, that line at the start is really only a joke… 

I’m joined by Simon Evans, Julian Linden, Belinda Goldsmith and Ossian Shine for a short talk about the sport here in Beijing. Tune in to find out about china’s unluckiest man, the power of the yam and why Michael Phelps wouldn’t touch a dram.

A few technical gremlins delayed this but … better kate than trevor.

The podcast team reflect on insane Usain, Phelps fatigue and the most dangerous man at the Beijing Olympics.

I’m joined by Julian Linden, Belinda Goldsmith, Brian Homewood, Erik Kirschbaum and Neil Maidment to look at the dafter side of the Beijing Games.

And if you were in any doubt as to the talents of Mr Linden, listen out for him playing the piano in the background.

Click below to play.

The American swimming great was still wet from winning his unprecedented eighth gold when he dedicated his victory to — swimming.

At his press conference Michael Phelps did it again, telling awed journalists that the seven new world records, 14 career golds and all the sweat that went into attaining them, would serve “my goal of raising the sport of swimming in the U.S. as high as it can go.”

And with Phelps’s appealing modesty, you could believe that the success was not about the multi-million dollar wealth that will come his way, the appearances on television chat shows and being recognised in the streets of his hometown Baltimore.

But how realistic is it that swimming can ever be a mass audience sport? Can you entice spectators week in and week out to watch eight people trudging along a 50 metre rectangle of water, propelling themselves with a variety of strokes and travelling for various differences?

You can’t see the swimmers faces as they exert themselves and the competitors are barely aware of what their opponents are doing. When the race ends the swimmers peer at the scoreboard to see which of them has won. There are no dramatic penalty shoot-outs, extra-times or play-offs.

Nor are the magnificently-fit and sleekly-shaped swimmers given to grand displays of emotion in triumph. A shake of the fist in the air, a few tears on the podium and then it’s back to the relentless grind of training.

Phelps was more realistic than he knew when he declared, “I don’t want this sport to be an every four years sport.” For most of us that is what it is, a sport that comes alive at the Olympics. Despite Phelps’s noble drive it is likely to remain so. “We get the most attention every four years but in between there is really not the exposure for us that I would like,” the 23-year-old said.

We tune in to the Olympics for the human drama, the personal stories behind the swims, the attainment of speeds never before achieved and the national pride in our compatriots doing well. The technical trickery of underwater cameras and slow-motion close-ups captures more of the action than in yesteryear.

But we don’t feel like we are in the pool. Swimcap cameras are not really feasible for a streamlined sport.

Phelps’s success will encourage thousands to swim more. Some future world champions will be inspired. But as with Mark Spitz and his 1972 feat of winning seven golds, the Phelps phenomenon will fade. We will see more of him in advertisements than in action. His sport will return to the background until he once more swims into our consciousness in London in 2012.

PHOTO: Photographers surround Michael Phelps of the U.S. after he won his eighth gold medal of the Games at the National Aquatics Center, August 17, 2008. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn     

Michael Phelps completed his record-breaking haul of eight gold medals at one Games on Sunday, beating fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz’s seven from Munich in 1972.

This one was never in much doubt — in stark contrast to the ‘fingernail’ win in yesterday’s butterfly — as he and his American team won the 4 x 100 metres medley relay comfortably. It took his overall tally to 14 from two Games.

He was already the athlete with most Olympic gold medals; now he has overtaken Spitz’s record too.

Not everyone may regard him as the greatest Olympian ever, but this was surely the greatest single feat at one Games.

What do you think?

How exactly did Michael Phelps manage to win that race this morning?

What is the plunge for distance competition?

And how could we make archery a bit more exciting?

I’m joined by Julian Linden and Ossian Shine on our latest podcast from Beijing. Seven minutes is all it takes. Go on … you know you want to.

Michael Phelps made it six golds in six races to edge closer to the record of Mark Spitz, while the three fastest men in the world whetted the appetites of 90,000 fans at the Bird’s Nest as swimming and athletics vied for attention on Friday.

Phelps was untroubled in the men’s 200 metres individual medley, moving to within one win of Spitz’s record from the 1972 Games.

Can anything stop Phelps? Well, yes, it is possible. American team mate Ian Crocker holds the world record and is up against him in the 100m fly on Saturday morning.

Can anything stop Usain Bolt in the men’s 100m on the track? That looks more doubtful. Bolt appeared to have plenty in hand as he won his second heat in 9.92 seconds and it will be a major surprise if anyone can catch him on Saturday.

The two rounds of the 100m heats were arguably the highlight of the first day of action at the Bird’s Nest, where the first track gold went to Tirunesh Dibaba in the 10,000 following her terrific burst over the last 300 metres.

At the tennis, Roger Federer showed there is life in the old dog yet as he recovered from his defeat by James Blake in the singles to partner Stanislas Wawrinka to victory over the Bryan brothers in the doubles.

Of course, the gold medal everyone wants is in the singles and it looks increasingly likely to go to Rafa Nadal following his win over Novak Djokovic. Nadal will play Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez for the title after his win over Blake in a heated semi-final.

For pic of the day, look below. Story of the day was probably American swimmer Rebecca Soni smashing the world record to win the 200 metres breaststroke two years after having heart surgery. My colleague Keith Weir chose the following as quote of the day:

“I told her I won! And she said,’Fat girl, you did!’ … This wasn’t just my dream, it was hers, so we were just so excited.”

That was China’s Tong Wen disclosing what her coach said to her after her victory in the women’s +78 kg judo final.

For joke of the day, listen to the end of our podcast. From six appeal to sax appeal … the old ones are the best…

Photo by David Gray /Reuters

If anyone at this Games could be forgiven for being a little bit conceited, a touch arrogant or slightly dismissive of his opponents then it surely would be Michael Phelps. Six races, six gold medals, six world records — it must be hard to keep your feet on the ground.

The reality is that having watched Phelps close-up this week, both poolside and in the press conference room, there isn’t the slightest whiff of arrogance about him. Even when provoked, by a reporter’s question about doping for example, he remains calm and respectful giving a sensible answer.

More importantly he remains respectful to his fellow athletes, in his own, rather reserved way.

I asked Hungarian Laszlo Cseh, who has finished behind Phelps on three occasions in these Games, what Phelps had said to him after the race and he smiled, “He just said ‘good race’.”

The 12-time gold medallist has celebrated his triumphs in a restrained manner — no whooping, no tears, no dancing poolside — just that one, genuine, roar of delight after the thrilling 4×100 relay win.

Asked about becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time, Phelps said that sounded “pretty neat”. That was refreshing because it managed to avoid sounding arrogant or falsely modest.

Phelps’s demeanour does reflect a culture of swimming that tends to discourage excessive bravado. The competitors spend a lot of time in training camps together and compete against each other in the annual world championships and the familiarity breeds respect.

Likewise they know that each one of them has to go through the same gruelling and often monotonous routine of training, watching your diet and living in a disciplined lifestyle.

Not many people live that way and so there is a mutual understanding. Also, as several podium finishers have pointed out this week, in a sport where a fraction of a second is all that separates a gold medal from a silver, it is very easy to be toppled and only a fool would look down on their competitors because they could very easily be the one being pipped next time.

Having dominated as much as he has, though, Phelps could have broken the mould and been forgiven. He could have chosen to behave like a swimming superstar; he could have said or done anything he wanted and most of us would have accepted it.

That he chose not to, illustrates not only the pleasant atmosphere around top class swimming but also reflects on Phelps, the man.

In an era where Phelps’s nation is suffering a bit of an image problem abroad, Phelps represents America at its best — excellence, courtesy, ambition and dedication, all delivered in an under-stated manner.

He beats everyone but you never hear a bad word about him — and that takes some doing.

PHOTO: Michael Phelps listens to the national anthem during the medal presentation ceremony for the men’s 200m individual medley swimming final at the National Aquatics Center during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 15, 2008. REUTERS/David Gray