Gold Medal Is Priceless, But Metal Is Worth $215

Sponsor Omega won't release images of race No. 7 finish

(NEWSER) - Michael Phelps' razor-thin victory in his seventh race is raising sticky ethical questions because the Olympics' official timekeeper is also one of Phelps' sponsors, the New York Times reports. Making matters worse, the timekeeper, Omega, and swimming's governing body won't break with protocol and release underwater images of the finish. They insist there's "absolutely no doubt" Phelps won and note that Serbia dropped its protest after seeing the images. More»

Marketing the Olympic swimming star could bring $100M

(NEWSER) - Even before Michael Phelps dove into the pool in pursuit of his eighth gold medal, another epic task had begun: Turning the swimming star into a marketing icon. By the time he’d collected his final piece of gold—along with a $1 million bonus from Speedo—the 23-year-old was well on his way to an Olympic-sized payday, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

Swimmer inspired America to love the games again

(NEWSER) - If the Chinese invented organized sports 6,000 years ago, writes Pat Forde on ESPN.com, then how appropriate that Michael Phelps came to Beijing to prove he was “the apotheosis of the athlete.” And America knows it. In a year when the Olympics had become “passe,” tens of millions of enthusiastic Americans rooted for Phelps in a way not seen since the Miracle on Ice. He “single-handedly saved the Olympics,” Forde writes. More»

(NEWSER) - Michael Phelps swam into history today by picking up his 8th gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, NBC reports. Phelps swam the third leg of the men's 4x100 medley—yes, another world record—to trump Mark Spitz's record of 7 medals set more than three decades ago. "I'm more at a loss for words now than I was last night," said Phelps afterward, referring to the microscopic margin of victory in his previous race. More»

(NEWSER) - Sure, if Michael Phelps wins his eighth Olympic gold, as he’s expected to do in the men’s relay, all eyes will be on him. And we’ll wonder (even more) if he’s all human or part-fish. But the Olympics' "defining fabulous moment" has already passed, writes Thomas Boswell in the Washington Post. It zipped by when Phelps won his seventh race by the width of a hair. More»