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Former Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe was on Chinese television the other day talking about Michael Phelps, the U.S. swimmer whose last Olympic loss was against the Thorpedo at the Athens Games in 2004.

Thorpe spoke about the challenge of swimming in multiple events, about being under pressure and having to produce on the day of competition.

"I know what he's going through," Thorpe said.

Maybe a little, but no one has gone through it and produced so much under such relentless scrutiny as Phelps, the man with the Midas touch.

Having already won five gold medals while setting five world records, Phelps went after his sixth on Friday morning as earnestly as he dove into the water and pursued his first. The event was the 200-metre individual medley and included a field of stern rivals — teammate Ryan Lochte, Laszlo Cseh of Hungary and Keith Beavers of Orangeville, Ont., who qualified with the eighth best time.

Phelps was first after the opening butterfly leg, then began building his lead through the backstroke, breaststroke and finally the freestyle. When he touched the wall, his time of 1 minute 54.73 seconds was good enough for another world record and, yes, another gold medal, the 12th of his remarkable career.

To put it in perspective, Phelps has contributed almost half of the 13 gold medals won by the U.S. team as of Friday morning. The total of six also equals the number of gold medals Canada has won in the past 21/2 Olympics (three in Sydney in 2000, three in Athens and none here so far).

To recap the dominance, Phelps has finished atop the podium in the 200 and 400 IM, the 200 butterfly, the 200 freestyle, the 4 x 100 freestyle relay and the 4 x 200 freestyle relay.

Cseh won the silver medal (he finished 2.29 seconds behind Phelps) in the 200 IM, with Lochte taking the bronze. It was Lochte's second medal of the morning. Minutes earlier, he had taken the gold in the 200 backstroke.

Asked whether he was tired of Phelps's hogging all the attention, Lochte offered a different tact.

"If he wasn't in the sport, I wouldn't be as good," Lochte said. "He's up there and I'm trying to get there. He pushes me in practice. I can't say I'd be as good without Phelps."

Beavers equalled his qualifying time in the 200 IM (1:59.43) and ended up in seventh place, more than five seconds behind Phelps. For Beavers, the dream was realized when he reached the final and took his place among the most versatile swimmers on the planet.

"Twenty years of hard work paid off," said Beavers, who added he wasn't intimidated by having to share the same pool as all-powerful Phelps. "I really couldn't care less if Michael's in the pool or not. It could be anyone beside me and I'll race them. It's just me and the water in front of me."

Annamay Pierse of Edmonton swam in the final of the 200 breaststroke. The 24-year-old psychology major at the University of British Columbia was competing in her first Olympics and was up against world-record holder Leisel Jones of Australia.

In the end, American Rebecca Soni beat Jones and Sara Nordenstam of Norway with a world-record time of 2:20.22. Pierse came in sixth at 2:23.77, setting a Canadian record.

"I was hoping for a medal and gave it my all," Pierse said. "I've come a long way and still have a long way to go."

Pierse said the rewriting of the Canadian record is proof that the swimmers in China can compete with the best in the world.

"Canadians are in there fighting," she said. "… The past four years, Canadians have realized they're better and they're just fighting for it. We know we're as good as the rest of the world."

Phelps's next two events will be the 100 butterfly and the men the 4 x 100 medley relay, which is scheduled for Sunday morning.

Ironically, Thorpe had said before the Olympics he doubted that Phelps could win eight times in Beijing. The reason, Thorpe insisted, was Phelps's bruising schedule and a list of competitors all aching to be the one who dethroned the king.

So far, many have tried; all have been left in his wake.