BEIJING (AP) -- It took 112 years worth of Olympics for one athlete to collect 10 gold medals. About an hour later, Michael Phelps made it 11.

Phelps won the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday morning to stamp himself as the mightiest Olympian in history, then got back in the pool and continued his quest toward having the greatest single Olympics by helping the U.S. win the 800 freestyle relay.

AP

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps holds the record for most medals ever won by any Olympian

He's 5-for-5 in victories and world records in Beijing, putting him more than halfway toward his goal of eight titles. Mark Spitz's once-unfathomable haul of seven wins has stood since 1972, but may have only a few days left.

After doubling up on finals Wednesday, Phelps will catch his breath Thursday, then dive back into his pursuit of history with finals Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Phelps thrilled Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Water Cube by winning the butterfly, but he "only" lowered his record by 0.06. A concerned look on his face showed something was wrong. Turns out, it was just a pair of leaky goggles. Nothing went wrong in the relay. Swimming first, he put the Americans ahead after 25 meters and well toward the record. His teammates stretched the lead to comic proportions, making sure they didn't need anything like the dramatic finish to win the 400 freestyle relay.

As much as Phelps is making victories and records look routine, it never gets boring, considering the tens of thousands of athletes who've competed in all the Olympic sports -- summer and winter -- since 1896 and realize none was as successful as Phelps.

Finland's Paavo Nurmi won nine medals, then Russia's Larysa Latynina matched him. Decades passed and Spitz and Carl Lewis were the only ones to join the club. Now this 23-year-old phenom from Baltimore has already topped them all, and who knows what's in store for 2012 in London.

"He's not just winning, he's absolutely destroying everything," teammate Aaron Peirsol said Tuesday. "It's awesome to watch."

Get this: If Phelps was his own nation (The Republic of Phelps? Phelpsistan? The Kingdom of Phelps?), he would be tied with South Korea for the third-most golds at these games. As it is, he has a 5-4 advantage over the rest of the U.S. delegation. He's also helped the Americans to a 25-21 lead over China in the overall medals race. The Chinese lead 13-9 in golds. Other than the U.S., no country has as many total medals as China has of the very best color.

Photo Gallery: What Winning Looks Like

Also Wednesday morning, the U.S. women gymnastics team made several mistakes and settled for silver, a disappointing second to China for Shawn Johnston, Nastia Liukin and crew.

Back at the pool, Phelps' pseudo sister, fellow Baltimore swimmer Katie Hoff, finished fourth in the 200 freestyle, marking her first nonmedal finish in three events here and keeping her without gold. Italy's Federica Pellegrini won it in a world-record time. Australia's Stephanie Rice won her second gold, taking the 200 individual medley in a world-record time. Her ex-beau, countryman Eamon Sullivan, set the 100 freestyle world record in a semifinal heat.

More: Complete Day 5 Event Coverage

Photos: The Day in Pictures

The exciting start to Day 5 continues the excitement of Day 4 in Beijing. There were a bunch more medals and records at the pool, plus cancer patient Eric Shanteau getting into the semifinals of the 200-meter breaststroke.

There was the practically flawless performance by China's men's gymnasts and the plucky bronze for the Hamm-less U.S. men.

There was superb pitching and powerful hitting in a record rout by the U.S. women's softball team. Even the weather was good. Sun and blue skies were seen for the first time since the flame was lit, proving there really is something behind the haze and clouds.

The U.S. women got their kicks against New Zealand, cruising to victory.

A different kind of haze is forming over the 2008 Summer Games. If all the tickets were sold, why are there so many empty seats? Where's all the buzz in this bustling city of more than 17 million residents?

And, uh, about that picture perfect opening ceremony ... In their eagerness to make the show sound and look perfect, the chief music director told Beijing Radio that the 7-year-old girl who sang "Ode to the Motherland" was replaced at the last minute by a better-looking 9-year-old lip-syncher, and that images of fireworks shown in the Bird's Nest were not live but computer-generated. The faux footage was distributed to broadcasters; NBC said its announcers let everyone in on the secret.