-By Barry Janoff

With swimmer Michael Phelps earning gold medals and shattering world records at the Olympics on a daily basis, it was only a matter of time before one of the bevy of marketers he represents would dedicate a spot to his current achievements. And Visa was the first to dive in, unveiling a spot last night that already incorporates images of Phelps from the 2008 Summer Olympics and congratulates him on his current gold medal streak.

The spot, entitled "Congratulations Phelps," aired on NBC during the first commercial break following his win in the 200-meter butterfly at the Games in Beijing. The ad is part of Visa's current "Go World" campaign, via TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles, which also includes such current and past Olympians as Nastia Liukin (gymnastics), Steven Lopez (taekwondo), Katie Hoff (swimming), Bubba Harris (BMX Supercross), Kerri Walsh (beach volleyball), Bob Beamon, Dick Fosbury and Jim Thorpe.

The new spot shows Phelps in action from this week, including an image of Phelps celebrating the U.S. team's gold medal performance in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay from a day earlier in the competition. Phelps has been featured in two other Visa spots: "Lap" and "Fish."

Phelps' current count is five gold medals for the 2008 Games, which is two shy of the record set by swimmer Mark Spitz during the 1972 Summer Games in Munich; and 11 for his Olympic career, which is two more than any Olympic athlete in the history of the modern Games. He will have the opportunity to earn three more gold medals in Beijing to set a single Games record.

Phelps currently earns about $6-7 million a year from endorsements, according to industry analysts. Though not high compared to the likes of Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Peyton Manning, he is far ahead of other Olympic athletes. Other deals could be coming, but the key for his current marketing partners is that he is putting them front and center on a global stage. In addition to Visa, his deals include Omega, Speedo, PowerBar, Kellogg, AT&T and Argent Mortgage. His agent is Peter Carlisle, director of Olympics & Action Sports at Octagon, Norwalk, Conn.

"Michael Phelps truly embodies the spirit of our 'Go World' campaign that celebrates memorable Olympic moments and the extraordinary athletes who achieve them," Kevin Burke, head of global consumer marketing at Visa, San Francisco, said in a statement. "We congratulate Michael on this momentous achievement and wish him the best as he continues his march towards Olympic history."