Like Mike

Phelps, that is.

Michael Phelps carved his name among the Olympic greats on Tuesday, smashing another world record in the pool to join Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis in an elite group on a record nine career golds.

An imperious victory in the 200 meters freestyle also gave the 23-year-old American his third gold in Beijing as he seeks to overtake Spitz's other record, seven golds at a single Games.

Three golds down, five more chances to go.

Phelps could overtake compatriots Lewis and Spitz, "Flying Finn" runner Paavo Nurmi and Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina, all on nine golds, when he swims two more finals on Wednesday.

Most dominant Olympic athlete of all time? Hard to argue against the man should he win any more auric accoutrement. Ten gold medals would make him the best of the best, even if he does fall short of Spitz's 7 golds in one Olympics. Frankly, since the relay was his least favored event for take gold in, he could very well end up with 14 gold medals, obliterating the career mark in just two Olympic games. You'd have to put him at the top of most any sports bar/water cooler argument.