Winning gold in his last Olympic race, Michael Phelps goes out on top
Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history…
Michael Phelps won his 22 Olympic medal…18th gold…when his United States 4X100 medley relay team won Saturday night in London. His teammates were Matt Grevers, Brendan Hansen and Nathan Adrian. There were whispers after Phelps failed to medal in the 400 IM and two other silver medals, but Mike subsequently won gold in the remaining events he competed in.
Phelps is an amazing champion. Is he the best Olympian of all time? I don’t know. There are countless all time greats from and not limited to boxing (Teofilo Stevenson), basketball (Oscar Schmidt) and track and field (Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee etc.), so I’m sure that will be debated, but his name will be legendary like Mark Spitz was to previous generations of swim fans. Very few thought Spitz record of 7 golds was ever to be repeated after his outstanding Munich performance in 1972. Phelps was on his heels as a teenager. If Phelps repeated his Beijing 8 gold medal winning feat, I would have thought he was not human.
Ryan Lochte should have stepped up his game and challenge Phelps’ superiority. That’s what great athletes do, but if we diminish what Phelps has accomplished since Athens, we’re missing the point and so will future kids.
6 gold and 2 bronze in Athens…
Phelps was setting world records when he was 15. He owns 7 world records overall. Bob Bowman has been a great coach since Michael was 11. He’s pushed Michael and also has known when to back off. As a result, Phelps has put himself in the conversation as one of the greatest athletes of all time. He’s accomplished far too much not to merit such consideration. To do what he does when the world is watching is incredible. Rarely has he made an athletic mistake. Mistakes humans make every day. It’s a testament to his training, dedication and discipline and Phelps is truly a soul model for all. Yeah he’s had hiccups after a DWI arrest when he was 19 and a pic of him hitting a bong went viral 5 years later in 2009, but how many of you haven’t done the same (not absolving him, but humanizing him so make your own distinction)? He was a kid with tremendous pressure, unforeseen responsibilities and lost his Kellogg sponsorship, was suspended for 3 months and learned his lesson. Didn’t he? I would say he did. Thank you Michael Phelps for everything you’ve done in the athletic arena. You’ve also done great stuff out of the pool in philanthropic endeavors and many will jump in the pool because of you. Modeling your career after the great Ian Thorpe, like Kobe Bryant did with Michael Jordan, was a great choice. After all, fans the world over benefited and inspiration continues to be spawned.
When silver is teammate gold…
Props for humanizing him. Simply said and so positive. Thanks Mizz
Well done. His entire career has been one of dominance up there with any athlete in any sport. Gretzky, Jordan, Tiger, Jim Brown, Willie Mays. At this point, I’m gonna just appreciate him instead of compare him. What he did in 2004, 2008 and 2012 will be remembered forever like the other great Olympic feats. Incredible to watch.
Double props for humanizing Phelps. He will definitely make the top 30 in top 100 athletes of the 21st century. At least that’s my prediction. The number of medals he won is a helluva feat. He’s definitely the best Olympic/American swimmer we’ve ever seen. We’ll see if anyone can top his greatness. I’m sure the sport of swimming will get a boost from his legacy. The sport should gain a little more stature in the sports world now. It won’t be swept under the carpet and reappear every four years.
Ridiculously dominant.
Was I the only one getting annoyed with Bob Costas over two interviews repeatedly harping on the thing he did wrong to land a couple of silver medals?
No Modi, its not just you. I despise Bob Costas at this point…however, he’s made for great twitter fodder the last week.
Congrats!!! Mike is amazing. His story is inspirational for all of us but especially for kids with ADD.
Costas is an ass!!!