Swimming champion Michael Phelps flaunts his record-breaking eight Olympic gold medals on the latest cover of Sports Illustrated (Aug. 25, 2008 issue). The photo was inspired by Mark Spitz, the former Olympic swimming champ who showed off the seven golds he won at the 1972 Munich Games.
“What is the value of eight golds in Beijing before a prime-time audience in the U.S?” his agent Peter Carlisle asked. “I’d say $100 million over the course of his lifetime.”
That’s a whole lotta cash but Phelps still intends on competing at the 2012 London Olympics, where he hopes to add to his 14 Olympic gold medals (he won six in 2004’s Athens). “There are some times I still want to hit before I retire,” he said. “And I want to try some new events. That’s what’s keeping me going.”
And next week, Phelps will be traveling to London next week rather than stay in Beijing for the closing ceremonies. “I am going to London to do the handover for the next Olympics,” he said. “And hopefully prepare myself the way I did for these Games and be ready to compete in London.”
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