“Something I was shooting for” – Throwback to when Michael Phelps opened up on beating Mark Spitz's Olympic medals record 

Michael Phelps holds the record for most medals in a single Olympic event, but before him, Mark Spitz held the same record. Interestingly, Spitz's unbelievable record stood for an astounding 36 years.

Eleven years ago, a YouTube channel called TheSportsPages posted a video of Michael Phelps at a press conference after the 2008 Olympics. He started off by saying:

"I guess, I'm supposed to tell her [journalist] more, but, I'm not really sure what to say. It was fun, it is something that I was shooting for [Spitz's record], and wanted to get. It's been a lot of hard work that Bob and I have worked together to get here."

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Michael Phelps opens up about beating Spitz's Olympic medals record

It was 1972 when an American swimmer, Mark Spitz, created history by winning seven medals in a single Olympic event. Until Michael Phelps' arrival in the sport, the record seemed unbreakable.

In 2004, when Phelps went close to Spitz's mark, everyone believed that he could break the record. But Phelps ended the event with a total of six medals.

Later in 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, Phelps carried on his dream run and finally managed to beat Spitz's record, winning eight medals at the event.

Mark Spitz at the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards

Speaking at a press conference after the Beijing Olympics, Phelps thanked everyone around him and said:

"I am thankful, everything turned out pretty much perfect from...you know, having great teammates, unbelievable teammates. Every moment that I've had so far in and out of the pool will be with me forever."

Michael Phelps talked about what it meant to beat Mark Spitz's record.

"Well first of all, I mean records are always made to be broken. No matter what they are, anybody can do anything. They set their mind to, you know, I set it all along, you know, I... I want to be the first Michael Phelps, not a second Mark Spitz. Never once will I ever downplay his accomplishment by any means. What he did still is an amazing feat and will always be an amazing accomplishment."

Phelps at the Beijing Olympics

In the end, Michael Phelps talked about being part of the US Olympic swim team and how honored he was. He said,

"You know, some of the best moments come away from the pool. You know, you know, first of all being able to be on a US Olympic swim team is one of the biggest honors a swimmer can really ever have. You know, being... being able to be as close of a team as we were, I mean it was... it was unbelievable and a team that was so close to my life. Every... every moment that I've had so far."

Michael Phelps retired from competitive swimming in 2016. His records state a lot about his accomplishments. With a total of 28 Olympic medals that include 23 golds, Phelps is the greatest Olympic swimmer ever.