Thorpedo Sinks Phelps' Shot at Spitz Mark
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ATHENS, Greece - The kid couldn't catch the Thorpedo - and he won't be catching Mark Spitz, either. Michael Phelps' quest for seven gold medals ended after just three events, doomed by another bronze Monday night in the most anticipated race at the Olympic pool - the head-to-head showdown with Australia's Ian Thorpe in the 200-meter freestyle...
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Six-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps says Ian Thorpe was "an inspiration and a terrific champion".
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American Michael Phelps won the gold medal Friday in the 100-meter butterfly with an Olympic-record time of 51.25 seconds.
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Ian Thorpe caught and passed Pieter van den Hoogenband in the final half-lap of the 200-meter freestyle to win the gold. Michael Phelps captured the bronze.
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Michael Phelps, denied in his bid to win seven gold medals, picked up his second victory of the Athens Games by winning the 200-meter butterfly Tuesday night in Olympic-record time. Phelps fell just short of his own world record, holding off Takashi Yamamoto to win in 1 minute, 54.01 seconds. The hard-charging Japanese swimmer took silver in 1:54.56, while Great Britain's Stephen Parry won bronze in 1:55.22.
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Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe beat  American arch-rival Michael Phelps in the men's 200-meter  freestyle on Monday as China, Australia and Japan led the  United States in the medals table on day three of the Olympic  Games.
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Michael Phelps took his haul of gold  medals at the Athens Olympics to three on Tuesday after winning  the 200 meters butterfly and helping the United States beat  Australia in the 4x200 freestyle relay.
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LOS ANGELES  Fast National ratings for Monday, Aug. 16, 2004 Michael Phelps&#39; bid to equal Mark Spitz&#39;s record of seven swimming gold medals ended Monday, but NBC continued its strong ratings drive with the Summer Olympics. NBC averaged a 16.4 ...
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The dream of emulating Mark Spitz's  seven Olympic gold medals is over for Michael Phelps but the  American refused to be disappointed after finishing third in  the most eagerly-awaited race of the Athens Games Monday.
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ATHENS, Greece - The United States won the men's 400-meter medley relay in world-record time Saturday night, giving Michael Phelps his record eighth medal of the Athens Olympics without him getting into the pool.    Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker and Jason Lezak won in 3 minutes, 30.68 seconds, lowering the old mark of 3:31.54 set by the Americans at last year's world championships in Barcelona, Spain...
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Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe beat  arch-rival Michael Phelps in the men's 200-meter freestyle on  Monday as the United States trailed China, Australia and Japan  in the medals table on day three of the Olympic Games.
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ATHENS, Greece  Take Mark Spitz off his back, and this Phelps kid is pretty fast. &quot;It is,&quot; Michael Phelps conceded, &quot;a little bit easier to get up on the (starting) block.&quot; ...
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US teenager Michael Phelps powered his way to two more golds in the Olympic swimming pool on Tuesday, setting a new Games record in the 200 meters butterfly and leading a 4 x 200 freestyle cliffhanger.
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Michael Phelps surely didn't bargain for this. His quest to win eight gold medals is over, doomed by America's worst showing in the 400-meter freestyle relay. Gary Hall Jr. is ticked off. And now comes the toughest race of all against Ian Thorpe. Not exactly what Phelps had in mind when he decided to challenge Mark Spitz.
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Michael Phelps led the United States to  a narrow victory in the men's 4x200 meters freestyle relay at  the Athens Olympics Tuesday to collect his third gold medal in  four days.
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Michael Phelps, of the United States, holds his gold medal after setting an Olympic-record 1:57.14 in the 200-meter individual medley at the Olympic Aquatic Centre during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, in this Aug. 19, 2004 file photo.
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On a night when Michael Phelps settled for bronze in his much-anticipated showdown with Ian Thorpe, Phelps' American teammates Natalie Coughlin and Aaron Peirsol won their first Olympic gold medals Monday. Coughlin, the top female on the U.S. team, won the 100-meter backstroke, while Peirsol touched first in the men's 100 back.