The reason why all the world records for swimming are being broken in Beijing is because they built the pools deeper, measuring 9 feet instead of 6, allowing the athletes to swim faster and easier due to less wave action on the surface. Because of the depth of the pool the wave action is reduced to the bottom and is a reason for the faster times this Olympics. Not to take credit away from Phelps though, I'm pretty sure he'd break several records anyway.
Is a guy who wins a major with a torn ACL not head and shoulders above the field? I will say it again. You just can't compare golf to swimming.
America rules. Oh yeah and Phelps won his 8th medal, setting a new record. America is also pwning at Basketball. And there's not a white dude on the team.