Michael Phelps remains on track for a record eight Olympic titles as the American 4×100m freestyle swimming team rallied to notch a thrilling victory.

The US team broke the world record with a time of 3:08.24, beating France into silver, while Australia took bronze.

The 23-year-old Phelps maintained his own excellent form, but the team had to rally after trailing at the midway point in a tight relay. Jason Lezak beat Alain Bernard to the wall to spark wild celebrations.

Phelps’ dream of breaking Mark Spitz’s record of seven golds in a single Games appeared to be doomed when the French took over the lead, but they managed to fight back well and now, he can now focus on single-handedly winning a third gold in the 200m freestyle event, where he finished 3rd in the semi-finals.