World and Olympic records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics metres butterfly, both set in Sydney, remained Olympic records. Michael Phelps of the United States also broke the record for the most gold medals ever won by an Olympian with a total of 14; 8 of which were won during the 2008 Summer Olympics - this was also a world record. <nowiki>*</nowiki> World record split from the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay Note: At the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay final, anchor Jason Lezak swam the fastest 100 m split (46.06); however, this is not considered an official FINA record, as he did not swim the first leg.
Jamaica at the 2008 Summer Olympics the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. Jamaica later withdrew from the West Indies Federation, declaring complete independence from Great Britain in 1962, And participated as an independent nation for the first time at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Between 1964 and 2008, the Caribbean nation sent delegations to all twelve Summer Olympic games, in addition to five Winter Olympic games. Although athletes representing Jamaica had won medals at every Olympic games since 1948 with the exceptions of the 1956 and 1964 games, the nation's delegation to the Beijing Olympics marked its most successful performance to that date