What Happened on August 13, 2008

Historical Events

World Record

American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins 3 gold medals, all in world record time, in the one day at the Beijing Olympics; 200m I/M (1:54.23), 200m butterfly (1.52.03) and 4 x 200m freestyle relay (6:58.56)

Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice wraps up the medley double at the Beijing Olympics when she swims world record 2:08.45 to win the 200m I/M gold medal
Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini sets new world record 1:54.82 to claim 200m freestyle gold medal at the Beijing Olympics; runner-up Sara Isaković is Slovenia's first Olympic swim medal winner
The Baltic state slides into recession with a 0.9% fall in second-quarter GDP after a drop of 0.5% in the first quarter; it falls deeper into recession in the third quarter when the economy contracted 3.3%

Events in 2008

Famous Deaths

Bill Gwatney, American political figure, assassinated at 48
Dino Toso, Italian Dutch Formula-1 engineer, dies of cancer at 39
Henri Cartan, French Mathematician, dies at 104
Jack Weil, American oldest working CEO (Rockmount Ranch Wear), dies at 107
Roy Prosser, Australian rugby union prop (25 caps; Northern Suburbs), dies at 66
Sandy Allen, American second-tallest woman in the world at 7 feet 7 inches (231 cm), dies at 53

Died in 2008 2008 Highlights