Early Saturday
For eight minutes, Raynell Williams moved as fast as he could, punched as hard as possible, spent every ounce of energy in him.
His wife, doing television color commentary of the Olympic men’s 50-meter prone rifle final back to the Czech Republic, jumped from her seat. After Matt Emmons, who grew up in New Jersey, fired his last shot, he looked to her right away.
Mark Spitz had one word for the performance that gave Michael Phelps his seventh gold medal of the Beijing Games and equaled his own Olympic record that had stood for 36 years.
BEIJING — Even Michael Phelps couldn’t believe his eyes. He said he had to take off his goggles to make sure it was his name, and not Milorad Cavic, next to the No. 1 after a thrilling finish in the Olympic 100-meter butterfly.
Watching Michael Phelps makes me feel like a 10-year-old kid again — in other words, a member of China’s women’s gymnastics team — the way I watch in complete awe of this man.
Michael Phelps swam into history with a magnificent finish this morning, tying Mark Spitz with his seventh gold medal in a single Olympic Games by the narrowest of margins in the 100-meter butterfly.
