There’s no question Michael Phelps is one of the greatest Olympians of all time. He absolutely dominates his competition and I love watching every second of his swims. I’ve been glued to the TV for each of his races.
In my previous post, I actually wasn’t trying to argue for or against Michael Phelps as greatest Olympian ever as much as I was trying to point out that medal count is very subjective and dependent on your sport.
Take Misty May and Kerri Walsh, the US beach volleyball duo. They similarly dominate their competition (they haven’t lost a single match all year!) but no matter what, they can only win 1 medal.
I think there are arguments on both sides. And June said something on her blog about how it makes her crazy to “see/hear people who it seems wants to make something controversial when really it’s just something to celebrate and be proud of…” I hadn’t really thought about it that way before, but she has a point. Why argue semantics when what really matters is that an athlete is putting on a phenomenal performance and doing things no one else has ever done and may never do again?
But I brought up the medal count because I find it interesting, and because it’s something I’ve thought about during previous Olympic games as well. I guess what I was really trying to say is that Phelps’s status as the “greatest Olympian ever” should really be based more on his complete dominance over his peers and by his margin of victory (which has been on the order of full seconds, with the exception of the 4×100 free relay), and less on the number of medals he’s won.
Anyway, I’ve had fun thinking about it and hearing your opinions!
