Michael Phelps is one of the most successful American athletes to compete in the Olympic games.  Between the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps won a total of 14 gold medals, 16 total.

On this day, August 13th, in 2010, Michael Phelps won his 11th career gold medal.  With 11 gold medals, Phelps had officially won more gold medals than any other Olympic athlete in history.  The medal was one in the 4×200 m freestyle relay with a world record time of 6:58:56.

Surprisingly, Phelps’ 11th overall gold medal would not be his greatest accomplishment at the 2008 Olympic Games.  By the end of the Beijing Games, Phelps had won a total of 8 gold medals, which broke the previous record of seven held by Mark Spitz.  When asked about his accomplishment, Phelps shared, “Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are.”