Michael Phelps holds three world records.
Michael Phelps . Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals ( 23 ) , Olympic gold medals in individual events ( 13 ) , and Olympic medals in individual events ( 16 ) . In winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games , Phelps broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz 's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games .