Phelps is NOT the greatest olympian ever...

Swimming involves countless iteration of the same distances, we can slice it and defend swimming but that is the truth. That does not mean that Phelps is not a once in a lifetime athlete. A different kind of man. But, imagine if we had events on the track involve, running forwards, running backwards, running with you r hands akimbo and running sideways, then have them in close distances say , 50, 100, 200, and 400m plus a couple of relays of the same variation. An athlete could end up with multiple medals.

So, due to its nature it is easier to win multiple medals in swimming.

Add the above to the pool of competitors available in a sport, swimming is expensive, even in affluent countries it is still limited to the higher echelons of the society. Track and field is cheaper and more accessible, which means winning a medal involves competing against each and every nation.

However how do you define the greatest Olympian? I still maintain that Abebe Bikila is, given the moment in time, the obstacles he faced and equipment available to him at the time. But that is my opinion on the greatest olympian, it is based on my love of distance running

What the hell are you talking about?

6 billion in Africa and Asia? No.

And you really dont think the coastal countries dont have people that can swim? Or the people who live on rivers?

Honestly, I'd rank Carl Lewis Olympic career higher than Phelps. His 4 straight LJ golds and 2 100 meter titles speak for themselves. The guy might not be everyone's favorite person, but in a sport where elite careers typically last 2 Olympiads, Carl displayed lasting power only seen in the pool. I know many swimmers and while I agree that their sport takes a mental toll, the physical requirements are laughable. The non-weight bearing aspect of the sport allows swimmers to compete in numerous events at the highest level. Imagine an athlete winning or medalling in the 1,2,4, both relays and maybe the hurdles 8-12 years...yeah right

Learning not to drown in the ocean is very differant to training 4 hours per day in a purpose built swimming pool. You will find no world class swimmer who doesn't train in a swimming pool. You'll find thousands of elite runners who don't train on a track. Only the priveledged and first world citizens have the opportunity to swim competitively...

A year or two ago a read an article in which Carl Lewis was asked about the greatest Olympian. I liked his answer. It was something like this, I'm just going off memory: " Why does their have to be just one person labeled the greatest. Whitney Houston is a great singer and so is Adelle(or some other singer I can't remember who he said). Why can't we just enjoy their performance and not compare who is better. They are both great. In the same way lets appreciate the different athletes from different sports performances' as great and leave it at that. There is no reason to compare Bolt to Phelps. They are both amazing at two different sports. Watch and enjoy."

That was a complete paraphrase from memory, the point should come our right though. Bolt is great and Phelps is great. Leave it at that.

really...really wrote:

Learning not to drown in the ocean is very differant to training 4 hours per day in a purpose built swimming pool. You will find no world class swimmer who doesn't train in a swimming pool. You'll find thousands of elite runners who don't train on a track. Only the priveledged and first world citizens have the opportunity to swim competitively...

Who goes to the Olympics or WCs without training on a track?

Phelps does have a lot of medals, but Emil Zatopek gets my vote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Z%C3%A1topek

There are a lot of kids who grew up in Jamaica and Africa that didn't have access to a track that went on to become Olympians.

For years, Kingston had the only real track in Jamaica and they trained on make-shift grass tracks or just ran in the streets.

The Africans just ran back and forth to school each day.

All of this being said I still think Michael Phelps acomplishments are amazing.

Not only did he have to become extremely fit but he had to execute the races each and every time over many years.

And in athletics, the long jump is not nearly as competetive as the 100m.

No two medals have the same weight.

I think 4th in the 100 is better than Gold in the long jump.

I am going to say that a Silver in the 200 in track may be better than a gold in the 200 IM in swimming.

So it all becomes subjective and you can't just do a medal count to say who is the best ever.

Fittest on Earth wrote:

You're right. I forgot you can't swim in oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.

You could, but no one does. Stop being dense.

Running off the track does not correspond well with swimming outside of a pool. Armies of people do the former and you can become world class without ever stepping on a track. You can't say the same for swimming in oceans, lakes, and rivers, and never stepping foot in a pool.

That's all well and good but the only reason I made this topic was because you can't watch the Olympics or read the paper without hearing phelps is the greatest olympian ever. I'm in the UK ffs, so i can't imagine how over thetop it is in the usa. I don't think you can compare sports with regards to one being the greatest olympian ever. its apples and oranges. To suggest phelps achievement is superior to Lewis or bolt or coe or geb or juantorena or el g or Kelly Holmes or Mike Powell is f'ing ridiculous.

* wrote:

To me it's about Lewis getting a gold in 4 different Olympics in the same event and also getting a gold in 4 different events (3 individual).

9 Golds

1 Silver

over 4 Olympiads

Denied chances at relay medals in 1988 and 1996.

Very well could have medalled in 1980 if not for the boycott.

.

yeah, damn hard to argue against that.

Not only is Phelps the greatest olympian of all time, HE IS THE GREATEST ATHLETE OF ALL TIME!!!

really?????? wrote:

Its not just the number of medals bit the success he has had in all 3 olympics, setting records, american, world, and olympic. A male gymnast could win 7 medals in an olympics. Don't think anyone has come close to that. A t and f runner could win 11 or so medals if they were well rounded enough, and thats just running.

There is no way a "well rounded" track athlete could win 11 medals in one Olympics, let alone over their career. That's like saying Usain Bolt could train to win gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, or Bekele could step down to win gold in the 100 and 200. No freaking way.

On another note, NBC is lame for suggesting Phelps is the greatest Olympian ever. I don't really know who is, but it isn't Phelps.

Agreed.

Don't you get tiered of watching the same (i mean, almost the same) event over and over again... 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m.... then only one event to measure endurance.... booooooring...

i've swam for decades... love it.

how many medals would some athletes have if track had: 50m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 300m, ..., 1,000m, 1,100m, 1,200m, ..., 5,000m, 5,100m, ... c'mon!

Thinly veiled troll

well now wrote:

Fittest on Earth wrote:

You're right. I forgot you can't swim in oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.

You could, but no one does. Stop being dense.

Running off the track does not correspond well with swimming outside of a pool. Armies of people do the former and you can become world class without ever stepping on a track. You can't say the same for swimming in oceans, lakes, and rivers, and never stepping foot in a pool.

Again, one needs access to a track in order to be a world class T&F athlete these days.

Do you think otherwise?

Yes, I think otherwise.

really?????? wrote:

DaveyGuy wrote:

5- Merlene Ottey 80,84,92,96,00

Probably just in one event though...too bad.

I am getting my facts from Track&Field news. This is a must look at, some very intersting stats. There are 5 who have won 4 golds in a game.