The Olympic host China basked in jubilance on Sunday as the nation shared international athletes' triumphs and marveled at their supremacy in the competition for a total of 37 Olympic gold medals up for grabs.
Michael Phelps apparently won the nation's 1.3 billion hearts when he completed his all-eight gold hunt with a seventh world record at the Beijing Olympics.
The entire audience roared when Phelps turned a third place behind Japan and Australia into the lead in the third leg of the men's 4x100m medley relay final, securing first place for his teammate Jason Lezak, who completed the final lap in a record-breaking 3 minutes and 29.34 seconds.
It was more than the Americans that were thrilled -- nearly all the Chinese, who made up the bulk of the 10,000-odd audience at the Water Cube in northern Beijing, marveled at the miracle.
"I think Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all times: he's talented and trains hard," said Ma Mengqiao, an 18-year-old spectator from Beijing. "I guess his success will reinforce the status of this sport in the Olympic agenda."
Ma, one of innumerable youngsters in China who idolize Phelps, said her admiration for the American star who won six golds in Athens at 19 has shaped herself into an amateur swimmer.
"He's really a miracle. I enjoyed seeing him smile every time he won gold," said Beijing bus driver Guo Ruijie, who bought a hard-won ticket for Sunday's finals after making reservations online last summer.
Guo, 24, said Phelps, with his eight golds, has put an additional "lucky eight" to the Beijing Games, which opened on Aug. 8, 2008.
"He's my idol because he has devoted himself to his ambitions," said Liu Zige, who won China's only swimming gold at the Beijing Games in women's 200m butterfly on Thursday. "There's a lot I should learn from him."
Besides the lucky ones who gained access to the Water Cube, most residents in Beijing stayed home on the drizzling, overcast Sunday morning, watching the Games on TV and chatting about their favorite stars on the Internet.