Man who win 8 gold medals in a single Olympics?

Michael Fred Phelps is an American former competitive swimmer . he is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time. With a total of 28 medals when Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing games , he broke fellow American swimmer Mark spitz's 1972 record of seven first - place finishers at any single olympic games . At the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens , Phelps already tied the record of eight medals of any colour at a single games by winning six gold two bronze medals. Michael Phelps also known as " The Baltimore Bullet " " flying fish " .