Comparing Olympic greats
What makes a champion? And can a champion only be measured by the number of golds he or she wins?
Michael Phelps's victory in the pool on Wednesday reignited the debate about who is the greatest Olympian of them all.
And in doing so reminded us about what makes good champions into greats and then into true legends.
I do not want to take anything away from Phelps' amazing achievements, and there is clearly more to come before he is done with the pool in Beijing.
But however many medals he wins, I for one do not think it fair to compare his achievements with icons Jesse Owens or Paavo Nurmi, or even more recent stars like Carl Lewis and Steve Redgrave.
The fact is swimming provides opportunities to the gifted swimmer to win more golds than most other athletes in their chosen sports.
Of course an athlete has to be gifted and exceptional to make the most of those opportunities, as Mark Spitz was in Munich in 1972, and as Phelps is in the modern era.
But for me, greatness must be judged not by the medal haul but by the conditions the athletes battles both in his own sport and in the wider world.
And taking all that into account, I still rate Jesse Owens as the greatest Olympian of all time.
To come through against the backdrop of brutality and discrimination both in his own country and at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, and then win four golds in four entirely different disciplines, marks him out as a champion without a peer.
In that way, he also comes close to being a sportsman who transcends sport - and not many sportsmen or women do that.
In my opinion, those who have are Muhammad Ali, perhaps the greatest 20th century athlete, Pele - who for many has defined Brazil - and Donald Bradman. Even Australians who know nothing about cricket know all about the Don. In years to come we may speak of Tiger Woods as being in that category.
As for Phelps, his great achievements will surely bring great financial reward as well as sporting acclaim. This is the most high-profile Olympics ever, held in a country which is most highly desired by the world's marketeers.
Indeed, within hours of his latest triumph, the chief executive of Adidas was telling me how much he would like to sign Phelps.
That of course is the other huge difference between champions of today and yesteryear.
Consider what happened to Owens after his feats in Berlin. Banned from amateur competition because of a dispute with the United States Olympic Association, he ended by running against a horse to make money.
Thankfully for Phelps, there are still some brave souls willing to take him on - even though at the moment, they cannot catch him.
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"Indeed, within hours of his latest triumph, the chief executive of Adidas was telling me how much he would like to sign Phelps"
Old habits die hard...
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In my opinion, Owens' Uncle Tom-ish involvement in the "Black Power salute" incident at Mexico, coming out against the athletes and siding with the openly racist administrators has to count heavily against him.
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An Olympic athlete who really impresses me is the US decathalete, Bruce Jenner. I know he won at least one gold medal. You see, the year he won the decathalon, he placed first in each of the ten events. My hat is off to him.
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I hope Phelps continues through to 2012 now, though whether he'll be motivated to do so is questionable.
I wonder though whether he'd be seen as some sort of a failure if he failed to pick up Gold in one event. Does winning 7 out of 7 rate better than winning 7 out of 8 and picking up a silver or bronze?
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I think you have missed three contenders. Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon of Cuba deserve a mention but what about Alexander Karelin. Three straight golds and a Silver, undefeated from 1987 to 2000 and for 6 years he did not give up a single point to an opponent. As an Olypian he reigned supreme in a combat sport for 13 years. There are probably other worthy contenders too. Carl Lewis did not embody the Olypic ideal which surely involves some humility. He was always brash and arrogant. See his response after failing drug tests prior to the 1988 games. He was only reinstated at the last minute.
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There is a lot of attention on Phelps, and Americans are loving calling him the greatest olympian (ever!!!) - obviously he is clearly a great but as Mihir points out he does have an advantage competing in the pool - the fact he can win eight medals gives him a massive advantage over those who can only compete in one event, such as those restricted by weight - Redgrave's 20 year span of medals is just as impressive, although if Phelps can do another 3 olympics and win 8 each time, then he may well be the greatest
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Olympians who transcend sport?
Tommie Smith and John Carlos must rank on that score high for their salute in 1968.
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What do you mean Owens won in four totally different disciplines?
He won the 100m, 200m, Long Jump, and 4x100m relay. All sprint events. If one was a hurdles then maybe, but all of those he won at are the same style as swimming one swimming style.
I feel Phelps acheivement is fantastic because he has set world records for seven, and an olympic record for the other. So 6 new records from one swimmer, and two from the team he is in. As that is against the best anyone has ever done in the event that is a fantastic acheivement.
Especially in the light of his ADHD. He can act as a great role model for children with this problem.
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