Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 12:16 PM

Michael Phelps has won the 100 metres butterfly final at the Beijing Games in thrilling fashion, drawing level with fellow American Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at one Olympics.

Phelps claimed his seventh gold as he came from behind to beat Serbian Milorad Cavic by just 0.01 seconds.

The American touched in a new Olympic record of 50.58 seconds while Australian Andrew Lauterstein produced a magnificent swim to claim bronze in 51.12.

Cavic turned in 23.42 seconds, 0.62 ahead of a seventh-placed Phelps who shared a stare down with his Serbian rival on the starting blocks just seconds before the race start.

With his record bid seemingly slipping away, Phelps conjured his freakish ability to rein in Cavic before timing his touch a fraction better to complete yet another famous victory.

After becoming the leading gold medallist in Olympic history on Wednesday, the 23-year-old swimming sensation now needs victory in the men's 4x100m medley relay, the final event at the Water Cube, to claim his eighth gold.

"It feels like I'm dreaming ... I can't describe it," Lauterstein told Channel Seven after the race.