Swimming - Coach says Phelps cannot better Beijing

By Julian Linden

BEIJING (Reuters) - The coach of Michael Phelps has given up on the American bettering his record of eight Olympic gold medals at a single Games.

Bob Bowman said Phelps had raised the bar so high with his performances in Beijing that it was virtually impossible for anyone to break his record.

Phelps has already committed himself to four more years of training in order to compete at the 2012 Olympics in London but Bowman said they were planning a lighter programme next time.

"I can't imagine that it's possible for someone to do better within the programme we have," Bowman told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

"If they want to add a couple of days then maybe, but that was a very special accomplishment and we're not looking to replicate it.

"We're just going to try and move forward and set some other goals. I think this is a high watermark in terms of the total number of medals."

Bowman, 43, said Phelps wanted to try backstroke and 100 metres freestyle after demolishing his own 200 freestyle world record during the Beijing Olympics.

He ruled out any thoughts of a possible assault on retired Australian Ian Thorpe's 400 world record.