Clive Brunskill/Getty Images; Al Bello/Getty Images; Nigel Roddis / ReutersWhat else is there to say about Michael Phelps at this point?
In another brilliant day for Team USA in the pool that also saw 17-year-old Missy Franklin set a world record in the 200-meter backstroke, Phelps won what he intends to be the final individual medal of his career—gold in the 100-meter butterfly, one of his signature races.
Phelps also became the first American male swimmer to threepeat in an Olympic event. He's got one more chance to wow in London—the 4x100 medley relay Saturday night—and then...into retirement he goes.
It may have been Ryan Lochte's 28th birthday today, but 27-year-old Phelps is the one who's having his cake and eating it, too.
Here are some more highlights from around the Olympic park and beyond:
And They're Off! The always-hyped track and field events kicked off at last, with U.S. sprinters Carmelita Jeter (her 10.83 seconds was the fastest of the day) and Allyson Felix earning spots in tomorrow's 100-meter semifinals and medals being handed out in men's shot put (American Reese Hoffa earned bronze) and the women's 10,000-meter run (Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba defended her Beijing title).
Fellow Phenom: Missy Franklin isn't the youngest fish in the gold-medal sea anymore—15-year-old Katie Ledecky broke Janet Evans' 23-year-old U.S. record in winning the women's 800-meter freestyle. "Wow! An exciting evening at the pool!! USA was tearing it up all around. So happy for my suite mates@FranklinMissy and Katie Ledecky!" tweeted Rebecca Soni, who set her own world record yesterday.
Long-Legged Beauties: Serena Williams will face off against Russia's Maria Sharapova in the gold-medal singles match.
Marathon Man: Defending Wimbledon champion Roger Federer survived a four-hour, 26-minute test from Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro at the All England Club, finally eking out a 3-6, 7-6, 19-17 win in the third. He has just enough time to refuel before Sunday's gold-medal match, but, alas, the Swiss champ can't expect the crowd to be on his side—the great British hope, Scotland's Andy Murray, will be on the other side of the net after upsetting Serbia's Novak Djokovic, 7-5, 7-5. (Fun fact: Both Serena and Andy have lost to their upcoming opponents in Wimbledon finals, Murray just last month.)
Tumblin' for Ya: The U.S. women's soccer team just can't keep their cleats on the ground. When Abby Wambaugh scored her fourth goal in four games, she and Megan Rapinoe launched into a series of cartwheels. They celebrated a little more subtly when Sydney Leroux, the baby of the team, came off the bench to put the game out of New Zealand's reach at 2-0.
Royal Hat-Trick: Avid Olympics watcher Kate Middleton made it to three events today, starting her morning alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron watching compatriot Jessica Ennis win her heat in the heptathlon hurdles. Then she caught Britain's men's field hockey win over Pakistan. And then hubby Prince William joined his wife-of-a-thousand-faces in cheering Becky Adlington's bronze finish in the 800-meter freestyle. Sounds like someone needs to visit the royal foot masseuse!
Magic Numbers: Team USA once again leads all comers with 43 medals, 21 of them gold. China is a close second with 42 medals, 20 gold, and Russia and Great Britain have vaulted past Japan with their respective medal tallies, 23 and 22.