No one can say which Olympian is the greater athlete based either on the number of medals they have won or which sport is "more difficult". This is a classic case of "comparing apples and oranges".
Is Phelps the greatest Olympian of all time? No he is not as far as I am concerned. Not yet. The greatest athlete or greatest Olympian is different from the athlete with the "most gold medals". It is like calling the winner of 15 medals in Draughts at the Olympics is the greatest Olympian. Or imagine for a moment a shooter -- air pistol, air rifle, small bore rifle -- piling up 20 golds over 4 consecutive Olympics. Would that make him the "greatest Olympian ever"? Swimming is a minor sport and so it cannot make him the greatest but what do you expect when he is American and most of the hype comes from the American media.
Phelps himself has placed his sport in perspective when stating that his ambition was to raise the status of swimming "in the public mind – to make it a major sport". In truth, swimming only dominates public attention when the Olympic Games come round every four years.
Some say he is not an athlete because swimming is recreation. But I am for him being a great athlete.
There was more excitement over Usain Bolt's win of the 100m and 200m dash double especially with world records in both than Phelps' 8 medals for many reasons and one of them is the profile of the two sports. 100m is like the main event of any athletics and swimming just isn't in the same league.
Because Phelps is a swimmer, somehow his accomplishments aren't as impressive. It is argued that it's "easy to win multiple medals in swimming" because swimming has so many racing opportunities, they say, and medals are cheapened. This is not entirely true however. Of the 20
men who have won the most Olympic medals, only three were swimmers. Gymnasts dominate the top 20. If winning swimming medals was so easy, swimmers should theoretically be all over that list.
Even if they did, though, Phelps' versatility renders that argument moot. Just because all swimming strokes take place in a pool doesn't mean they're the same. Phelps won at three different distances - 100, 200 and 400 meters -- in Beijing. It's the swimming equivalent of a runner pulling the 200, 400 and 800 triple. That's never been attempted in any Olympics, let alone accomplished. Michael Johnson only did the 200 and 400 double.
Phelps also won golds in three different strokes, a feat made even more impressive considering he was competing in those events with stroke specialists who gear their entire training toward that one discipline. That he had to swim a staggering 17 races in eight days is also not to be overlooked.
One observer says you cannot be called the greatest swimmer ever if you don't win 100m freestyle - the ultimate prestige swimming event; Phelps didn't and never will. Also: too many (3) relays in that medal count and those are far from being just Phelps's medals.
As for my verdict whether he is the greatest, it's too early to tell, since Phelps likely isn't finished winning Olympic medals. If he returns in 2012 at the London Games and wins, say, five more medals, then there will be no question that he should be hailed as the top Olympian of all-time. If Phelps retired tomorrow though, one could still make a compelling case on his behalf. But not entirely declaring him the greatest without dispute.
It must not be forgotten that Phelps was there at the 2000 Olympics and won nothing. The American press say nothing of this. At the age of 15, Phelps competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, becoming the youngest American male swimmer at an Olympic Games in 68 years. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and was fifth in the 200 m Butterfly. So he has not dominated all the Olympics he participated in.
Another point to note is that Phelps ranks second in total career Olympic medals, after Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina, who won a total of 18 medals (nine gold) spanning three Olympic Games. If one is counting only gold medals, sure, Phelps has the most, and what he did was truly exceptional (like touching out what's his name by .01 sec -- that was pretty freakin' exciting).
Others say the best Olympian is Germany's Birgit Fischer, who competed in 7 Olympic games spanning 24 years.
May argue for Jim Thorpe who was a winner in the decathlon and pentathlon which are the ultimate test of an athelete. In the decathlon, Thorpe won 9 of the events and so could have won 9 medals had each event had a medal.
Carl Lewis for many is the greatest; Lewis is one of only three Olympic competitors to have finished first in the same event in four successive Games, the others are a sailor and a discus thrower. The discuss thrower however, broke records in each consecutive Olympics. Lewis's supremacy in the long jump between 1984 and 1996 was remarkable, but he was also a wonderful sprinter and in 1984 matched the performance of Jesse Owens in 1936 by getting four gold medals in the same Olympics. Unfortunately for him, he dominated at a time (1984) when
there was the Soviet boycott and so we will never know whether things would have been different.
As one writer puts it, "At the moment, I would put Phelps level with, rather than ahead of, Nurmi and Lewis, because he has yet to demonstrate their longevity of excellence. However, the American swimmer may well continue until London 2012 and we will have to reassess his status then."
What reduces his greatness for me is the fact that in Phelps' case, only four of his 11 golds over two Games have come from straight events. Three were from medleys and four from relays. But Lewis was more dominant in terms of straight events. How many medals might Lewis have won in his remarkable Olympic span from 1984-1996 had there been sprinting and hurdling medleys? Also other past athletes were disadvantaged by the amateur-only limitation that prevented Jim Thorpe and others from winning more medals.
Still, competition is much stiffer today, with more widespread participation in most sports. This is despite the fact that conditions are better with pools and swimming gear having been improved.
The last person's opinion I am quoting says "I believe that the greatest Olympian ever is Jesse Owens for the simple reason that Owens had to overcome the pressure of a country that did not embrace him and a country that considered him to be inferior. If he lost then there could possibly have been no Jackie Robinson or any other Olympian such as Carl Lewis or Michael Johnson or any other track and field athlete. I rate Olympians such as Wilma Rudolph and Nadia over Phelps because not only did they blaze a trail for others to follow they did it under dire circumstances wherein other athletes might have crumbled under the pressure".
This reminds me of fellow American swimmer Spitz . . . Phelps was great no doubt about it, however Spitz had only 7 opportunities, set World Records in all 7 i.e. 7 for 7 vs 7 for 8WR's in Phelps' case and Spitz being a Jew in Germany was difficult coupled with what was happening with the killings in Munich the other pressures must have been off the human ability to cope with, so with all that under those circumstances you still gotta go with Spitz. Will you?
Some still favour Phelps over Spitz. Spitz's record seven gold medals stood for 36 years, and he may have won eight golds if the 50-meter freestyle had been an event in 1972, as it is now. But even if Spitz had won eight golds in 1972, what Phelps has done would still be more impressive because worldwide swimming was weaker then than it is now. In 1972, the United States won nearly half of the Olympic swimming medals, but now countries have stronger swimming programs, meaning Phelps has more global competition than Spitz had.
Your truly's conclusion is that after his extraordinary performance in Beijing, Michael Phelps earned a spot on the list of all-time Olympic greats. Four years from now, he'll likely sit alone at the top.
For Phelps to be the most decorated gold-medal winner to date is magnificent, though not necessarily synonymous with the title eagerly bestowed upon him over the last few days by marketing sharks and American commentators. It would be ill-advised to detract from the acclaim for Phelps in total.
Michael Phelps just delivered the greatest Olympic performance in history and this to me is purely based on his levels of concentration and perfection. That is (or should be) without debate. But does Phelps' dominance in Athens and Beijing put him atop the list of greatest Olympians ever? Even after not making the mark in Sydney?
When Phelps wins another few medals, doubling all others - Say he wins four more golds, a large percentage of them being individual golds and say another four silvers being added to give a tally of about 24 Olympic medals - all doubt will be gone.
This is despite the fact that comparison's are futile....the sports are different and different athletes competed at different times in different conditions. Comparisons between different generations even in the same discipline are inevitably speculative, never mind in sports as different as swimming, running and gymnastics. In my opinion, in any estimation of Olympic distinction beyond simple medal count, many other factors need consideration.
Is Phelps the greatest Olympian of all time? No he is not as far as I am concerned. Not yet. The greatest athlete or greatest Olympian is different from the athlete with the "most gold medals". It is like calling the winner of 15 medals in Draughts at the Olympics is the greatest Olympian. Or imagine for a moment a shooter -- air pistol, air rifle, small bore rifle -- piling up 20 golds over 4 consecutive Olympics. Would that make him the "greatest Olympian ever"? Swimming is a minor sport and so it cannot make him the greatest but what do you expect when he is American and most of the hype comes from the American media.
Phelps himself has placed his sport in perspective when stating that his ambition was to raise the status of swimming "in the public mind – to make it a major sport". In truth, swimming only dominates public attention when the Olympic Games come round every four years.
Some say he is not an athlete because swimming is recreation. But I am for him being a great athlete.
There was more excitement over Usain Bolt's win of the 100m and 200m dash double especially with world records in both than Phelps' 8 medals for many reasons and one of them is the profile of the two sports. 100m is like the main event of any athletics and swimming just isn't in the same league.
Because Phelps is a swimmer, somehow his accomplishments aren't as impressive. It is argued that it's "easy to win multiple medals in swimming" because swimming has so many racing opportunities, they say, and medals are cheapened. This is not entirely true however. Of the 20
men who have won the most Olympic medals, only three were swimmers. Gymnasts dominate the top 20. If winning swimming medals was so easy, swimmers should theoretically be all over that list.
Even if they did, though, Phelps' versatility renders that argument moot. Just because all swimming strokes take place in a pool doesn't mean they're the same. Phelps won at three different distances - 100, 200 and 400 meters -- in Beijing. It's the swimming equivalent of a runner pulling the 200, 400 and 800 triple. That's never been attempted in any Olympics, let alone accomplished. Michael Johnson only did the 200 and 400 double.
Phelps also won golds in three different strokes, a feat made even more impressive considering he was competing in those events with stroke specialists who gear their entire training toward that one discipline. That he had to swim a staggering 17 races in eight days is also not to be overlooked.
One observer says you cannot be called the greatest swimmer ever if you don't win 100m freestyle - the ultimate prestige swimming event; Phelps didn't and never will. Also: too many (3) relays in that medal count and those are far from being just Phelps's medals.
As for my verdict whether he is the greatest, it's too early to tell, since Phelps likely isn't finished winning Olympic medals. If he returns in 2012 at the London Games and wins, say, five more medals, then there will be no question that he should be hailed as the top Olympian of all-time. If Phelps retired tomorrow though, one could still make a compelling case on his behalf. But not entirely declaring him the greatest without dispute.
It must not be forgotten that Phelps was there at the 2000 Olympics and won nothing. The American press say nothing of this. At the age of 15, Phelps competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, becoming the youngest American male swimmer at an Olympic Games in 68 years. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and was fifth in the 200 m Butterfly. So he has not dominated all the Olympics he participated in.
Another point to note is that Phelps ranks second in total career Olympic medals, after Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina, who won a total of 18 medals (nine gold) spanning three Olympic Games. If one is counting only gold medals, sure, Phelps has the most, and what he did was truly exceptional (like touching out what's his name by .01 sec -- that was pretty freakin' exciting).
Others say the best Olympian is Germany's Birgit Fischer, who competed in 7 Olympic games spanning 24 years.
May argue for Jim Thorpe who was a winner in the decathlon and pentathlon which are the ultimate test of an athelete. In the decathlon, Thorpe won 9 of the events and so could have won 9 medals had each event had a medal.
Carl Lewis for many is the greatest; Lewis is one of only three Olympic competitors to have finished first in the same event in four successive Games, the others are a sailor and a discus thrower. The discuss thrower however, broke records in each consecutive Olympics. Lewis's supremacy in the long jump between 1984 and 1996 was remarkable, but he was also a wonderful sprinter and in 1984 matched the performance of Jesse Owens in 1936 by getting four gold medals in the same Olympics. Unfortunately for him, he dominated at a time (1984) when
there was the Soviet boycott and so we will never know whether things would have been different.
As one writer puts it, "At the moment, I would put Phelps level with, rather than ahead of, Nurmi and Lewis, because he has yet to demonstrate their longevity of excellence. However, the American swimmer may well continue until London 2012 and we will have to reassess his status then."
What reduces his greatness for me is the fact that in Phelps' case, only four of his 11 golds over two Games have come from straight events. Three were from medleys and four from relays. But Lewis was more dominant in terms of straight events. How many medals might Lewis have won in his remarkable Olympic span from 1984-1996 had there been sprinting and hurdling medleys? Also other past athletes were disadvantaged by the amateur-only limitation that prevented Jim Thorpe and others from winning more medals.
Still, competition is much stiffer today, with more widespread participation in most sports. This is despite the fact that conditions are better with pools and swimming gear having been improved.
The last person's opinion I am quoting says "I believe that the greatest Olympian ever is Jesse Owens for the simple reason that Owens had to overcome the pressure of a country that did not embrace him and a country that considered him to be inferior. If he lost then there could possibly have been no Jackie Robinson or any other Olympian such as Carl Lewis or Michael Johnson or any other track and field athlete. I rate Olympians such as Wilma Rudolph and Nadia over Phelps because not only did they blaze a trail for others to follow they did it under dire circumstances wherein other athletes might have crumbled under the pressure".
This reminds me of fellow American swimmer Spitz . . . Phelps was great no doubt about it, however Spitz had only 7 opportunities, set World Records in all 7 i.e. 7 for 7 vs 7 for 8WR's in Phelps' case and Spitz being a Jew in Germany was difficult coupled with what was happening with the killings in Munich the other pressures must have been off the human ability to cope with, so with all that under those circumstances you still gotta go with Spitz. Will you?
Some still favour Phelps over Spitz. Spitz's record seven gold medals stood for 36 years, and he may have won eight golds if the 50-meter freestyle had been an event in 1972, as it is now. But even if Spitz had won eight golds in 1972, what Phelps has done would still be more impressive because worldwide swimming was weaker then than it is now. In 1972, the United States won nearly half of the Olympic swimming medals, but now countries have stronger swimming programs, meaning Phelps has more global competition than Spitz had.
Your truly's conclusion is that after his extraordinary performance in Beijing, Michael Phelps earned a spot on the list of all-time Olympic greats. Four years from now, he'll likely sit alone at the top.
For Phelps to be the most decorated gold-medal winner to date is magnificent, though not necessarily synonymous with the title eagerly bestowed upon him over the last few days by marketing sharks and American commentators. It would be ill-advised to detract from the acclaim for Phelps in total.
Michael Phelps just delivered the greatest Olympic performance in history and this to me is purely based on his levels of concentration and perfection. That is (or should be) without debate. But does Phelps' dominance in Athens and Beijing put him atop the list of greatest Olympians ever? Even after not making the mark in Sydney?
When Phelps wins another few medals, doubling all others - Say he wins four more golds, a large percentage of them being individual golds and say another four silvers being added to give a tally of about 24 Olympic medals - all doubt will be gone.
This is despite the fact that comparison's are futile....the sports are different and different athletes competed at different times in different conditions. Comparisons between different generations even in the same discipline are inevitably speculative, never mind in sports as different as swimming, running and gymnastics. In my opinion, in any estimation of Olympic distinction beyond simple medal count, many other factors need consideration.
