* Phelps finishes with 18th gold, record 22nd Olympic medal
* Serena wins women’s tennis gold
* “Blade Runner” Pistorius makes Games history
* U.S. top medals table ahead of China and Britain
(Updates with Phelps’s last gold, British cycling record)
By Mike Collett-White
LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) – The greatest swimmer in history
bowed out on a high with gold in the last pool race of the
London Olympics as the fastest sprinter in history strutted into
the athletics stadium to begin the defence of his 100 metres
title.
Michael Phelps swam his favourite butterfly stroke in his
farewell race to help the United States to gold in the 4×100
metres medley relay, an event they have never lost.
The medal was his 18th gold in an Olympic career stretching
back to Sydney in 2000, and his 22nd of any colour, four more
than the previous record held by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina.
At the athletics stadium, South African “blade runner” Oscar
Pistorius made history as the first double amputee to compete in
an Olympic athletic event, coming through his 400 metres heat.
Continued…
