Olympics - Swimming: Michael Phelps equalled fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven golds after coming from behind for a fingertip victory. Trailing Serbia's Milorad Cavic in the 100 metres butterfly, he lunged forward on his final stroke to touch a hundredth of a second ahead, the smallest margin possible.
Phelps, the sporting phenomenon of the Beijing 2008 Games, punched the air and screamed with joy as a capacity crowd in the Water Cube rose to hail him.
"It's pretty cool, that's all I can say," said Phelps, who thought halfway he had blown it. "I am in a sort of dream world."
Phelps now has 13 career golds, four more than anyone else in the 112-year history of the modern Games.
Only seventh at the turn, Phelps's second length was one of the comebacks of his career. He clocked 50.58 seconds to Cavic's 50.59, close enough for Serbian officials to protest.
Swimming's governing body FINA confirmed the result. "I personally looked at the video footage and it was very clear the Serbian swimmer touched second," race referee Ben Ekumbo said.
Phelps said he was hurting during the last 10 metres.
"It was my last individual race and I just wanted to finish as strong as I could," he said, laughing and waving at fans.
On Sunday, Phelps can go one better than Spitz if he wins an eighth Beijing gold in the 100 medley relay. The man Phelps matched and could surpass offered gracious compliments.
"What you did tonight was epic. I never thought for one moment that you were out of the race," Spitz, 58, told America's NBC television.