updated 6:37 p.m. ET Aug. 20, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - Finally, someone on the American swimming team found a way to overshadow Michael Phelps.

All it took was a backstroke brouhaha.

World record-holder Aaron Peirsol won a gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke, but he sure had to sweat it out. First, he was disqualified for making an illegal turn. Then, his victory was restored just in time for the medals ceremony. Finally, swimming officials huddled late into the night considering protests from two nations before deciding that Peirsol was indeed the winner.

“Man, it was a rollercoaster,” he said. “I feel bad for everybody in that field. It was a weird call. I’m happy it was overturned, though.”

The disputed race came on the same night Phelps bolstered his legacy as one of the greatest swimmers in Olympic history, winning his fourth gold of the Athens Games and sixth medal overall.

While Phelps will fall short of Mark Spitz’s record seven gold medals, the 19-year-old from Baltimore is closing in on another hallowed mark: most medals of any color at a single Olympics. He’s two away — with two very distinct medal possibilities left on his busy schedule.

“I can’t get away from numbers,” Phelps quipped.

On this night, however, he had to take a back seat to the backstroke.

Peirsol hasn’t lost the 200 in almost four years, and he touched more than two seconds ahead of the runner-up in Thursday’s final. After shaking hands with his rivals, he climbed on deck to wait for the official results to be posted.

Suddenly, the crowd gasped. Peirsol was disqualified, giving the gold to Austria’s Markus Rogan. Before the Americans could protest, FINA, the sport’s governing body, announced that the judge did not adequately explain the alleged violation “in the working language of FINA” — English or French.

Peirsol was given his gold.

“Aaron is a very honest person. I am sure he swam fairly,” said Rogan, a close friend of the American. “For a moment, I thought about gold and the idea was just beautiful but, after all, it’s fair like this.”

But the Austrians protested the ruling, as did Britain after its swimmer, James Goddard, was bumped from third to fourth. About 2½ hours after the race, FINA rejected the appeal, giving the bronze to Romania’s Razvan Florea.

Backstrokers turn on their stomachs heading into the wall, and the rule states that any kick or arm stroke must be part of the continuous turning action. Apparently, the judge felt Peirsol got an extra kick as he went into his final turn.

“It’s almost something you can’t see,” said U.S. men’s coach Eddie Reese, who reviewed the race tape. “To call Aaron on that, you would’ve had to disqualify the other seven guys in backstroke for the same thing.”

It was quite a day for the Americans, who picked up another gold when Amanda Beard won the 200 breaststroke for the first individual win of her illustrious career. Only a victory by Australian Jodie Henry in the women’s 100 freestyle prevented an American sweep.

There were five U.S. medals in all. Ryan Lochte’s silver in the 200 medley was part of a 1-2 finish with Phelps, the bronze going to George Bovell of Trinidad.

And Natalie Coughlin held on for bronze in the 100 free, finishing behind Henry and defending champion Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands.

“A very good night for us,” Coughlin said. “We’re a team that gains momentum and it’s only going to get better the next two days.”

Beard won her race in an Olympic-record time of 2 minutes, 23.37 seconds — 0.23 seconds better than Australian Leisel Jones, who was under world-record pace for the first 150 meters. Jones took silver, while Anne Poleska of Germany earned bronze.

Phelps took his swimming to new heights with an Olympic record (1:57.14) in the 200 medley, giving him a third individual gold medal. Mark Spitz is the only other U.S. swimmer to win more than two individual races at a single games.

Spitz, of course, is the man Phelps was chasing when he took on a staggering eight events in Athens.

The quest to win seven gold medals — Spitz’s total from the 1972 Munich Games — will fall short. But Phelps, who also has two bronze medals, is still on course to match the Olympic record of eight medals set by Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Dityatin at the boycotted Moscow Games in 1980.

He’ll go for his seventh medal Friday. Just 30 minutes after winning the medley, he dove back in the pool and set an Olympic record in the 100 butterfly semifinals, setting up a showdown with teammate Ian Crocker in the final.

Phelps also is expected to swim the 400 medley relay, an event the United States has never lost at the Olympics.

Peirsol became the fifth male swimmer — and fourth American — to sweep the backstrokes, following mentor Lenny Krayzelburg (2000), Rick Carey (1984), John Nabor (1976) and East Germany’s Roland Matthes (1968 and ’72).

Coincidentally, Peirsol stirred controversy earlier in the meet when he accused Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima of doing an illegal dolphin kick while winning the 100 breaststroke. Swimming officials found nothing wrong with Kitajima’s technique.

On Thursday, the ruling also went Peirsol’s way.

Swimming - Men's 200-meter Backstroke (medals: Aug. 19th) Medal Athlete Country Result Gold Aaron Piersol United States 1:54.95 OR Silver Markus Rogan Austria 1:57.35 Bronze Razvan Florea Romania 1:57.56 NBCO: Schedules, preliminary result and complete final results

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