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LONDON — When it was over — when the iconic record Michael Phelps had just inked indelibly into the history books and the enormity of the moment was sinking in amidst the awestruck lucky souls with tickets to get inside the London Aquatics Centre last night — the Foo Fighters “Best of You’’ blared through the speakers.
Had the DJ been a little more creative, a more appropriate tune to commemorate the scene would have been the Beatles “With a Little Help from My Friends.’’
Phelps got his record last night, and he did it with a lot of help from his friends.
Swimming the anchor leg of the U.S. men’s winning 4×200 freestyle relay, Phelps captured his 19th medal to surpass Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina as the most decorated athlete in Olympic history.
It was Phelps’ 15th gold medal, which is six more than any other Olympian ever has won. He also has two silvers and two bronzes.
Latynina won nine golds, five silvers and four bronzes from 1956 to 1964.
Phelps, who sometimes comes off as flippant and is not prone to getting very emotional, looked and acted differently last night.
As soon as he got out of the pool he huddled with his three relay teammates — Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Conor Dwyer — and thanked them. They had, after all, handed Phelps a lead of nearly four seconds, allowing his anchor leg to become as much a coronation as it was a clincher.
“After the race, he huddled us together and said, ‘That was my 19th medal and that makes me the most decorated Olympian and I want to thank you guys for helping me have this moment,’ ’’ Berens said. “To be a part of this is something I’m going to tell my kids someday.’’
Phelps, 27, still has three more events in London before he retires, meaning he likely will add to his record-setting numbers.
“Records are made to be broken, but I’ll give this one a long time before it’s broken,’’ Berens said.
Lochte, who led off the relay and gave the Americans a lead they would make grow with each leg by the time Phelps touched water, called Phelps’ achievement “unbelievable.’’
“What is it, 19? That’s unheard of,’’ Lochte said. “He’s one of the toughest racers and one of the best swimmers ever to live. It’s pretty awesome.’’
What made Phelps’ night even more remarkable was the fact that, less than an hour before the relay, he had been upset in the 200-meter butterfly, his best event, having to settle for a silver medal when South African Chad Le Clos touched the wall five-hundredths of a second before he did.
“Tom Brady doesn’t complete every pass and Michael Phelps doesn’t win every race,’’ U.S. swimming coach Greg Troy said.
It’s a week of mixed emotions for Phelps, who had a disappointing fourth-place finish in the 400 individual medley, a runner-up in the 4×100 free relay and then the silver in the 200 butterfly last night.
The 200 fly was a shocker considering that Phelps, who led the entire race before Le Clos chased him down in the final 25 meters, had not lost at either the Olympics or world championships since 2000 in Sydney, when he finished fifth as an unknown 15-year-old.
Even Le Clos was stunned, telling reporters after the race, “I’m as surprised as you guys are.’’
The loss denied Phelps the chance to become the first male swimmer to win the same individual event at three straight Olympics, though he still has a chance to do it in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly here.
“It’s obviously my last one and I would have liked to win,’’ Phelps said. “I was on the receiving end of getting touched out.’’
A short time later, though, he was on the receiving end of some big-time help from his teammates, who gave him such a big lead and allowed him to swim into the history books.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com