LONDON (ABC News) - In his last individual race as an Olympic swimmer, American Michael Phelps won his 21st medal and 17th gold of his career in the 100-meter butterfly final.
A beaming Phelps, who also set the world record for the event, said immediately after the race that to win in his last solo event was "really special."
Phelps will have one more chance to add to his medal count Saturday, when he competes in the relay team in the 4x100-meter medley event.
Minutes earlier, Missy Franklin set the world record in the 200-meter backstroke final by nearly a second, winning her fourth medal and third gold of the 2012 Olympics.
Franklin, a 17-year-old rising high school senior from suburban Denver, said she dedicated all of her Olympic accomplishments to the victims of the Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting that killed 12 people and left 58 others injured.
AP