What makes swimming sensation Michael Phelps a marketer's dream is that he encompasses it all.

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The swimming rivalry of Michael Phelps (27, with 268, 500 Twitter followers) and nemesis Ryan Lochte (27, with 130, 000 followers) should be another youth magnet.

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He joins his brother, Paul, who was forced out earlier, but we do have to look forward to Michael Phelps going for that record eight swimming gold medals, and his quest begins this weekend.

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Michael Phelps has a good shot to win the first swimming gold in the 400-meter individual medley Saturday.

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"I want to see the swimming competition between Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps, I want to see if Ben Ainslie wins his fourth consecutive gold, I want to see if (Valentina) Vezzali the Italian fencer also wins her fourth consecutive gold and many more of these events -- this is the richness of the Olympics, " he said.

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But history on Saturday also favored the leaders, as the most decorated Olympian of all time tallied another win with his American teammates in the 4 x 100-meter medley relay, handing Michael Phelps his 18th gold medal in the last race of his storied swimming career.

CNN: Phelps nets gold in last race; British hosts bank six

Those Olympics may be celebrated for Mark Spitz's seven swimming gold medals (a record broken in the 2008 Beijing games by Michael Phelps, who won eight) and recalled for the controversial U.S.-USSR men's basketball final, but its lasting image may be that of a masked gunman on the balcony of the Olympic Village.

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