Michael Phelps claimed an exclusive lounge of his own in the pantheon of sporting greats by winning an eighth gold medal in the last session of swimming finals.

The United States team of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps and Jason Lezak claimed the 4x100m medley crown in 3min 29.34sec (the first sub 3min 30sec time), the last gold medal in the race pool at the Water Cube and an historic eighth gold medal for Superfish. Australia took silver and Japan the bronze.

But it was all about Phelps. As far as the people in the pool were concerned, there is no debate: Phelps is the "greatest Olympian of all time", with eight gold medals, a career tally of 14 gold medals, seven world records in Beijing, 25 solo world records in his career and six relay global standards.

The deed is done, coach Bob Bowman's masterpiece complete. Phelps once said that there were "no limits". Soaring beauty and excellence of the kind we have seen this week knows no bounds.

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BACKGROUND

• How the Brits became world beaters

• London double-decker arrives in Beijing

• Olympics proves capacity for greatness

• New dawn for British sport as Olympic sun sets

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• Phelps wins historic eighth gold medal

The last gold medal for women went to Australians Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper and Libby Trickett, who axed 3.05sec off the world record in the 4x100m medley to keep the US at bay by 0.51sec, with China third in an Asian record of 3min 56.11sec and Britain locked out of the medals in a European record of 3min 57.50sec. Britain's Gemma Spofforth set a European record of 59.05sec leading off on backstroke ahead of Kate Heywood, Jemma Lowe and Francesca Halsall.

Before the relays, racing witnessed the first African man to reach the top of the podium in a solo event: by 0.046sec a length, defending champion in the 1,500m freestyle, Australia's Grant Hackett was denied membership of the triple crown club by Oussama Mellouli: 14min 40.84sec to 14min 41.53sec.

The bronze went to Ryan Cochrane, of Canada.. The minor medallists from Athens 2004, Larsen Jensen, of the US, and Britain's David Davies were locked out. Davies, in sixth, will race in the inaugural 10km marathon at the rowing lake on Thursday.

In the first final of the concluding session of swimming, Britta Steffen, of Germany, became the third woman after Kriston Otto and Inge de Bruijn to win the sprint freestyle double. The 24-year-old kept 41-year-old American, Dara Torres, at bay by 0.01sec in an Olymnpic record of 24.06sec in the 50m freestyle. Australia's Cate Campbell took bronze keeping Libby Trickett, the world record holder, out of the medals.

The world's sprint queen is German once more, and Steffen's victory ensured that every women's freestyle crown at these Games went to a European, Federica Pellegrini, of Italy, and Rebecca Adlington, of Britain, doing their formidable bit.