Michael Phelps swam his way one lap closer to the end of his Olympic career, in the most fitting way imaginable, by winning a gold medal. Phelps' win helped put the United States in on top of the medal count, advancing past China by one medal overall and one more gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Phelps earned his record-setting gold medal in the 100m butterfly event. He owns the record for the most Olympic gold medals and most Olympic medals for any individual. The event was the final individual event of his career, as someone who can legitimately lay claim to being one of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time.
On Saturday, Phelps and his teammates are back in the water for the 400m individual medley relay. It will be the final event of his career.
Here is the updated medal count for Friday, August 3:
1. United States, 43 (21 gold, 10 silver, 12 bronze)
2. China, 42 (20, 13, 9)
3. Russia, 23 (3, 12, 8)
4. Great Britain, 22 (8, 6, 8)
5. Japan, 21 (2, 8, 11)
Make sure to stay with this StoryStream for more coverage of local Ohioan athletes at this year's games. Also head over to SB Nation's 2012 Olympics hub for more news and analysis from London.