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Michael Phelps will be looking to break the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics and that accomplishment was likely to come Saturday night as part of a team effort.
After tying the Olympic record in the most exciting fashion imaginable, a record eighth gold medal for Michael Phelps could be a mere formality on Day 9 in Beijing, provided the U.S. men's 4x100 medley team don't botch their exchanges, CBS Sports is quick to point out.
Phelps tied Mark Spitz's record early Saturday by extending his six-foot-four frame to trip the timer just 1-100th of a second ahead of Serbia's Milorad Cavic, who was born in California.
The swimming event of a lifetime is set to take place just minutes before 11 pm EST.
And what were the odds of Michael Phelps breaking the record?
One would need to bet $2000 to win $100 for Phelps to win, meaning the odds makers at BetUS.com believe this is a virtual lock.
And while BetUS.com wasn't offering odds on the other countries such as Australia winning Saturday night, they were offering odds on Team USA (and Phelps) NOT winning and those odds were set at +800 paying $800 for every $100 bet.
"Don't count out Australia," warns Dan Shapiro of Gambling911.com. "This is a very good swim team."
And if any team is going to offer the upset, it will probably be the Aussies.
But here's the reality check for anyone who thinks the USA won't win and Phelps won't walk off with the record: It would take the first medley defeat of a United States men's squad in Olympic history for Phelps not to surpass Mark Spitz's hallowed mark of seven golds at a single Games, set in 1972.
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Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com International
