August 17, 200818 yr Definitely best Olympic athlete ever...However, best athlete ever seems harder to crown him with, IMO.
August 17, 200818 yr I think he is the best OLYMPIAN ever. I have a different definition for athlete, I guess. For best OLYMPIC ATHLETE I would go with someone like Albert, Prince of Monaco or someone like that, who participated in multiple sports in both the summer and winter olympics. Best ATHLETE ever is just too hard. Edited August 17, 200818 yr by Hearsay
August 17, 200818 yr Best ATHLETE ever is just too hard. Exactly. I have no idea where one would begin to define best athlete ever.
August 17, 200818 yr He did something that was amazing. But it is really hard to say he is the best Olympian ever, when the simple fact is: There are a lot of swimming events. This makes it hard for others outside of swimming to achieve the medal count he did.
August 17, 200818 yr I went with Best Olympic Athlete Ever because let's face it - there is a ridiculous amount of training that goes into EACH of the 8 events. Even though they are all swimming events, which give him a great advantage, its not as if its easy to perfect each type of stroke.
August 17, 200818 yr Don't think he is the best Olympic athlete although he is most successful. Without a doubt he is the best swimmer ever or maybe even best to get into a pool, however, no way I can say he is the best ever Olympic athlete. He just basically dominated a sport that no one could come close to beating him in. Most athletes only have a couple chances to medal, Phelps had eight and was favored in all of them. I have the utmost respect for Michael Phelps, and there will never be a swimmer like him, however, there have been better Olympic athletes. Not by much but there have been.
August 17, 200818 yr Exactly. I have no idea where one would begin to define best athlete ever. I would almost certainly have to lean toward a decathlon winner. (decathlete?) The versatility required to win it wins out, IMO.
August 17, 200818 yr Author He did something that was amazing. But it is really hard to say he is the best Olympian ever, when the simple fact is: There are a lot of swimming events. This makes it hard for others outside of swimming to achieve the medal count he did. Just to play devil's advocate. A track guy could run the 100, 200, 400, 100H, 400H, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, high jump, long jump or triple jump combo to get to 8...
August 17, 200818 yr Just to play devil's advocate. A track guy could run the 100, 200, 400, 100H, 400H, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, high jump, long jump or triple jump combo to get to 8... Then that is two fields of events that could attain such a high number of medals. 2 out of the other 20 or 30 events.
August 17, 200818 yr Who??? Hmmmmmmm lets see......... Jesse Owens Carl Lewis Michael Jordan Michael Johnson maybe and maybe some guy name Cassius All better athletes IMO, and if given the opportunity to compete in as many events that these athletes specialized in (such as Phelps) then they would have had as much success as well. I'm not knocking Phelps at all I just don't see him being the best Olympic "athlete" ever. He is great no question, top 5 more than likely no question, best swimmer no question, but simply the best then ?
August 17, 200818 yr Just to play devil's advocate. A track guy could run the 100, 200, 400, 100H, 400H, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, high jump, long jump or triple jump combo to get to 8... As a sprinter and a jumper (albeit, in high school, which was a while ago) I feel that the ease of adjustment between the different strokes in swimming and that of facing obstacles and the totally different methods of running in the jumping contests are too great to compare seamlessly.
August 17, 200818 yr Author Then that is two fields of events that could attain such a high number of medals. 2 out of the other 20 or 30 events. So individual sports should be devalued???
August 17, 200818 yr Author As a sprinter and a jumper (albeit, in high school, which was a while ago) I feel that the ease of adjustment between the different strokes in swimming and that of facing obstacles and the totally different methods of running in the jumping contests are too great to compare seamlessly. You can't compare any of it seamlessly. I would like to see each track event done backwards for gold... :lol:
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.