Phelps Begins Charge at Spitz's Record

ATHENS, Greece - Michael Phelps grabbed his head in disbelief, then thrust his left fist in the air. He&#39;s an Olympic champion - just like Mark Spitz. Phelps began his quest to overtake Spitz&#39;s 1972 record haul of seven gold medals with a dominating performance in the 400-meter individual medley, breaking his own world record Saturday night and claiming the first U.S. gold medal of the Athens Games.<br> <br> Ian Thorpe won his second straight gold in the 400 freestyle - a race he got into only through the generosity of an Australian teammate - but Jenny Thompson was denied her record-tying ninth gold medal when she gave up the lead to Australia on the final leg of the 400 free relay.<br> <br> &#34;It was a change of pace for me to be passed by someone,&#34; Thompson said. &#34;It&#39;s usually the other way around.&#34;<br> <br> Still, it was a good night for the powerful American team, which began eight days in the Olympic pool with a 1-2 finish. Phelps touched the wall in 4 minutes, 8.26 seconds, while teammate Erik Vendt was more than 3 1/2 seconds behind but good enough for silver at 4:11.81. <br> <br> &#34;I&#39;m a little bit less nervous,&#34; said Phelps, 19, of Baltimore. &#34;I&#39;ve got one off my shoulders and can relax a little bit.&#34;<br> <br> It was a rousing start to the much-anticipated Olympic meet, but Phelps is just getting warmed up. He will likely swim in eight events, giving him a chance to break Spitz&#39;s record at the Munich Games.<br> <br> So far, Phelps is following the script of the greatest swimmer in Olympic history. All seven of Spitz&#39;s wins were in record time.<br> <br> Thorpe almost missed the 400 free - his best event - when he inexplicably fell off the starting block at the Australian trials, earning an automatic disqualification. But he got in when teammate Craig Stevens gave up his spot.<br> <br> Thorpe barely held off another countryman, Grant Hackett, to win in 3:43.10. American Klete Keller took bronze for the second straight Olympics, setting an American record of 3:44.11.<br> <br> &#34;I didn&#39;t realize how much this event meant to me,&#34; said Thorpe, who fought back tears after touching the wall. &#34;I am more excited now that it is off my shoulders.&#34;<br> <br> Thompson, 31, had a chance for her ninth gold when she dove into the water for the anchor leg with a lead of nearly four-tenths of a second.<br> <br> But the greatest relay swimmer in U.S. history couldn&#39;t hold it. Jodie Henry passed Thompson after they made the final turn nearly in unison, touching the wall in 3:35.94 to break the world record of 3:36.00 set by Germany two years ago.<br> <br> The winning team included Alice Mills, Lisbeth Lenton and Petria Thomas, but it was Henry who did the bulk of the work. She swam nearly a second faster than Thompson with a stunning time of 52.95 for the final 100.<br> <br> Thompson swam her 100 in 53.77 - best of the American swimmers and enough to give the team a national record of 3:36.39. The Netherlands took bronze in 3:37.59.<br> <br> &#34;We were so close,&#34; Thompson said. &#34;We set a new American record. I think that&#39;s pretty cool.&#34;