beijing olympics 2008

Aaron Peirsol's teammate Ryan Lochte won his first individual gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke final in a world record of 1 minute, 53.94 seconds.

While many assumed Aaron would become the first man in 36 years to sweep the Olympic backstroke events at consecutive Games, the "greatest backstroker of all time" took second place in stride.

As he said to the Orange County Register, “It really doesn’t take anything away from my career, a race is a race. You can get beat, no one owns anything.”

The event brings Aaron's career medal count to 4 golds and two silvers -- not too shabby!

[Image: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images via www.nytimes.com]

We watched last night as our favorite backstroker-slash-ocean lover, Aaron Peirsol, won his fourth Olympic gold medal and set a world record of 52.54 seconds in the 100-meter backstroke, which made him the first man since Roland Matthes of East Germany in 1968 and 1972 to win back-to-back 100 backstroke titles at the Games, according to the New York Times' report.

It was an exciting race. The first 50 meters saw Aaron lagging behind in lane two, but after his flip and a fierce kick off the wall, he surged ahead. The commentators roared.