U.S. swimmer and all-time Olympian Michael Phelps posed with his eight gold medals exclusively for the August 25, 2008 issue of Sports Illustrated. The photograph was inspired by fellow Olympic champion Mark Spitz, who showed off seven golds in 1972.

On August 10, with the help of his teammates, Michael Phelps eclipsed Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games, an iconic performance that was surpassed by a swimmer fitting of this generation: a 23-year-old from Baltimore who loves hip-hop music and texting with his buddies.

This is Michael’s fifth appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated, giving him the distinction of appearing on more SI covers than any other swimmer.