Have you been watching the Olympics? I’ve been trying to catch as much as possible. Some pretty cool stuff going on.
Let’s start with Michael Phelps. 23 gold medals in his career. That is a record. With this number of medals, the question is: Is Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian of all time? Then, a follow up to that is: Where does he rank in the GOATs period?
My wife and I started having this discussion. The first answer has to be YES. With the most gold medals over time covering 3 different Olympics, he has to be one of the options. I’m not much of an Olympian historian, but I’m sure you can make an argument for some other folks. Yet, at the same time, don’t think there is much of an argument against Phelps being rated #1.
There’s another current Olympian that can be in that conversation. Usain Bolt officially became the fastest man again for the 3rd straight Olympics; the broadcaster put him in this conversation as well. He is pretty amazing too. They said his speed at the 40 meter mark is his same speed at the end of the race; he just doesn’t slow down. So regardless of how you start, he will chase you down, because as you slow down, his speed remains constant. So Phelps and Bolt should be in that top Olympian conversation; don’t think there are any arguments there.
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So let’s just cement Jordan and Ali; are Phelps and Bolt cemented now? If they are the 2 greatest Olympians of all time, then they should be, yes? Is that then the Mount Rushmore of GOATs across all sports? Jordan and Ali transcend eras; will Phelps and Bolt do that as well? What other Olympians should be in this conversation?
It’s fun to talk about. It’s great to see people do their thing. Watching Phelps swim & Bolt run is very easy on the eyes. These guys are at the top of their respective sport. Although I didn’t see much of Ali, he was there too for a number of years. I did see MJ play; no question about him… ever. We all know MJ’s impact.
So who you got? Who’s your top 4 ever? One more week left for this year’s Olympics… will another star be born?
MK
Phelps has been amazing! 23 gold medals? WOW! That is pretty damn good going against the world’s best over the span of the last 3or4 Olympic games. I think I heard no one else has more than 9 gold medals…how much more impressive does that make phelps’ golds?
Bolt is just raw speed, like a cheetah! His long legs and stride means he can run the 100 meters in 41 steps…how crazy is that? If he wins gold in the 200m and relay, he will be 9for9 in Olympic gold medals. He is the best runner in history!
Both phelps and bolt will probably be retiring after these games…age catches up to everyone, unfortunately. I would love to see bolt vs michael johnson!
With that said, my 4 GOATs would have to be MJ, Ali, Gretzky, and Ruth. Cant really go wrong with those 4. It is an interesting discussion that many would be able to make cases for others. Too bad age gets the best of everyone, even the GOATs!