A lot has been said about Michael Phelps being "The greatest Olympian of all time." Though I wouldn't dare specifically name a person to that title, I wanted to take a moment and just say, I don't think Phelps is the greatest Olympian of all time.
He is talented, and accomplished and decorated, but he doesn't embody the Olympics, or the Olympic spirit to me better than anyone else, especially not this year where the love of the games just doesn't seem evident to me. I would say more accurate is that Phelps is indeed the most decorated Olympian of all time, very talented and a great athlete. I would leave it there.
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Having the most medals doesn't make one the greatest Olympian. I don't even think that is a fair measure as some sports (like swimming) its far more possible to get more medals than others. On top of that, the greatest Olympian should embody both great wins and great sportsmanship.
We should probably look more to the Pierre de Courbertin Medal winners for the greatest Olympians of all time- people like Luz Long, Lawrence Lemieux (Gave up his very likely shot at a medal in sailing to go and rescue some fellow athletes who's boat capsized) , and Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima (attacked by a mad man at the end of the marathon he was going to win, he still managed to get bronze when he broke free.) Not to mention those athletes who have left a lasting impression on generations- Mary Lou, Olga, the mag seven, Mohamad Ali, and that is just the summer athletes. We could add in those with great Olympic longevity- Dara Torres, Iordan Iovtchev, Vitali Scherbo, and many many more.
Phelps is great, but does having more medals really make him the greatest? I don't think it does.
He is talented, and accomplished and decorated, but he doesn't embody the Olympics, or the Olympic spirit to me better than anyone else, especially not this year where the love of the games just doesn't seem evident to me. I would say more accurate is that Phelps is indeed the most decorated Olympian of all time, very talented and a great athlete. I would leave it there.
'
Having the most medals doesn't make one the greatest Olympian. I don't even think that is a fair measure as some sports (like swimming) its far more possible to get more medals than others. On top of that, the greatest Olympian should embody both great wins and great sportsmanship.
We should probably look more to the Pierre de Courbertin Medal winners for the greatest Olympians of all time- people like Luz Long, Lawrence Lemieux (Gave up his very likely shot at a medal in sailing to go and rescue some fellow athletes who's boat capsized) , and Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima (attacked by a mad man at the end of the marathon he was going to win, he still managed to get bronze when he broke free.) Not to mention those athletes who have left a lasting impression on generations- Mary Lou, Olga, the mag seven, Mohamad Ali, and that is just the summer athletes. We could add in those with great Olympic longevity- Dara Torres, Iordan Iovtchev, Vitali Scherbo, and many many more.
Phelps is great, but does having more medals really make him the greatest? I don't think it does.
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