Video

The US swim team's training camp in Palo Alto, California. 23 year old Michael Phelps prepares for the Olympic where he has a shot of breaking the US Olympic record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics. That record belongs to Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972. SOUNDBITE: Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz, saying (English): "I would have never thought that 36 years later I would be sitting here talking about a record that theoretically I have. My record is not a contested event. It just so happens that I have swum in 7 events and won 7 of those medals. Michael has a program of eight events and he's not swimming the same combination. In one sense It's almost irrelevant to make a comparison that way. But a gold medal is a gold medal and I feel honored." Phelps fell short of equaling that record in Athens four years ago. SOUNDBITE: Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, saying (English): "I want to be the first Michael Phelps. I don't want to be the second Mark Spitz. I'm not downplaying his achievements by any means. What he did is still the best Olympic achievement of all time and I'm just trying to do things that nobody else has done before." Phelps currently has a sizeable endorsement deal with Speedo, the company that developed the advanced LazerRacer suit which he will reportedly wear in China. Spitz offered his own thoughts on these developments. SOUNDBITE: Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz, saying (English): "I mean I had long hair, I didn't wear goggles, I had a little suit that was nylon, it wasn't even clingy yet I broke world records. If you really thought that that swimsuit made you faster then I'm buying Tiger Woods golf clubs because I think I can be competitive. The reality is its not the swimsuit that taking the guys across the pool fast. It's the guy in the swimsuit stroking the suit fast." At 23, Phelps already owns eight Olympic medals, including six golds, and holds four world records. Mark Spitz currently has no plans to travel to Beijing. Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters