Michael Phelps broke the Olympic medals record Tuesday with his 19th as the United States romped to a dominating win in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the London Games.
With 19 career medals spanning three Olympics, Phelps moved one ahead of Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who got her haul in 1956, 1960 and 1964. And he finally got his first gold of these games, bouncing back from the disappointment of settling for silver when he glided at the end of the 200 butterfly earlier Tuesday.
The United States team of Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer, Ricky Berens and Phelps on the anchor leg won in 6 minutes, 59.70 seconds. France took the silver in 7:02.77, while China was third in 7:06.30.
Phelps now has 15 golds, two silvers and two bronzes.
Earlier in the day, Phelps won a record-tying 18th Olympic medal, taking silver in the 200-meter butterfly.
The relay win was his his first gold of the London Games.
In the butterfly, he was out-touched at the wall by South Africa's Chad le Clos. Phelps flipped away his cap in disgust when he saw a "2'' beside his name, knowing he had blown it at the end by trying to glide to the wall instead of taking one more stroke.
Le Clos won in a time of 1 minute, 52.96 seconds. Phelps finished in 1:53.01, while Japan's Takeshi Matsuda took the bronze in 1:53.21.
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