BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Michael Phelps hated to be taunted when he was young and hated to lose as he grew up.

　　The 23-year-old American has put the swimming world under his feet. With 11 Olympic gold medals, he is the most decorated Olympian in the world.

　　On Wednesday, before the 200m butterfly race started, Phelps unplugged his earphones, took off his sports jacket, and stretched his legs and arms, doing what he needs to do before any race.

　　The spectators cheered, and, as usual, he remained unfazed. Phelps was the first one to stand by the starting block. When he emerged from the water, he has rewritten both the record book and the Olympic history.

　　About an hour later, Phelps headed another record-breaking race in the 4X200 freestyle relay which even stunned the country's best athletes, including basketball player Kobe Bryant.

　　Before Wednesday, he had to share the nine-Olympic-gold club with predecessor Mark Spitz, American track and field star Carl Lewis, former Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi. Now, Phelps is in his own league.

　　Raised in a single-parent family in Baltimore, Phelps, the youngest, followed his two sisters into swimming. Water was the best refuge for the youngman, especially when his playmates picked upon his big ears. With a perfect physique for swimming, Phelps quickly turned his fondness of water to his power.

　　"Growing up, I always wanted to be an Olympian," he told reporters. In his hometown, he trained with coach Bob Bowman, whom he said is "intelligent in the sport and on top of everything". He trained seven days a week when others only trained for six days.

　　In 2000, Phelps made his Olympic debut as the youngest athlete on the U.S. team and placed fifth in the 200m butterfly. Months later, he set a new best in the event as the youngest man to break a world record. Since then, he began his evolution into the greatest swimmer on earth.

　　Phelps came to Beijing as a star: he won six gold medals and two bronzes in Athens, and seven golds in the Melbourne World Championships last year.

　　Asked about how he managed to get on top of the sport, Phelps said it was just "working out and practice". "We spend a lot of time on kicking EVERY single day," he said. Phelps is a master of the underwater dolphin kicks, which reduce resistance and push swimmers ahead like a submarine.

　　"The underwater kicks are Phelps' weapon," said former Chinese swimming head coach Chen Yunpeng, "it's like the fifth kick besides the regular swim styles, but only more powerful."

　　"Phelps has great kicks. I can copy him but I couldn't be as good," said South Korean Park Taehwan, winner of the 400 free gold and 200 free silver.

　　Schedueld to swim 17 races in Beijing, Phelps is not afraid to be overburdened. "I conserved my energy throughout the whole meet, whether it was seven, eight or nine days. I think that's probably the biggest thing I've learnt in the last four years to be able to conserve my energy," he said.

　　As a veteran swimmer, Phelps is also able to pull off something as great when the environment goes against him. In the 200m butterfly and 4X200 free, he swam a broken goggle which blinded his sight, but still managed to win with new world records.

　　"When my goggles started to fall off, there was nothing I can do. I can just swim. I couldn't take them off, because I had two caps on. I couldn't reap them off. I just swim," he shrugged as he recounted the process.

　　Phelps also has the determination to be a champion. In the 200 freestyle, Phelps avenged his Athens loss by winning the race with a new world record. "I hate to lose. When I lose a race like that, it motivates me even more to try to swim faster," he said.

　　Australian swim coach Alan Thompson said the presence of Phelps "made a field of great swimmers look ordinary." His teammate Aaron Peirsol said it might be once in a century you see something like Phelps races. "He's not just winning, he's absolutely destroying everything. It's awesome to watch," Peirsol said.

　　On the field, Phelps is consistently focused and usually unchallenged, but off the field, he is just like any 20-something guy. He plays video games, likes listening to hip hop music, and was once caught in drunken driving. He loves to text friends, and was amused when reading messages like "it's ridiculous how many times I see your ugly face (as he wins every time)."

　　He dismissed being the most decorated Olympian as something "weird, neat and cool". "I tried to focus on my next race, but thinking 'Wow', It's pretty cool saying and a pretty cool title. I'm definitely honored," he said.

　　Before starting his gold quest, Phelps has also learnt to play coy game and talked down his ambition.

　　"You guys are the ones who talked about it. I haven't said anything about breaking any records," he told reporters a week ago, referring to the goal to eclipse Spitz's mark of seven golds at a single Olympics.

　　"My goals have never been published. Bob and I are the only two persons who know (the goal), and we are going to work through this week and the next to accomplish that goal," he said.

　　But when Phelps hit water, you knew that he had the target in mind. He has won five races so far, all with new world records. When teammate Jason Lezak secured the gold of 4X100 free relay, he belched out screams and went overly emotional.

　　The established Olympian clearly knows the weight of his achievements. "When you win an Olympic gold medal, it stays with you forever," he said, "Birthdays happen every year, Christmas happens every year, but the Olympic gold medal definitely never never gets old."

　　Five days in Beijing, Phelps was the reason to keep fans stay up late to watch his races. "My friends said the people in the US have gone crazy... It's pretty cool to have a country behind you and on your side," he said.

　　And in Beijing, Phelps inspires as his legend continues.

　　"Phelps is the only swimmer in the world I know of," said Chen Xinrong, a 12-year-old Beijing student who watched Phelps' race with awe. "Look at his arms! He is so strong and every time he swims, he gets faster. I wish I could be like him."

　　The greatest Olympian is still on the way to become greater. He is aiming at three more golds in the rest of the races.

　　"It's not over yet, anything can happen in the next three events," Phelps said, knowing the gold could change hands in a split of a second.

　　"I'm not unbeatable. No one is unbeatable, everyone can be beaten," he said.