I say yes.

Hard to argue with 14 gold medals dangling around his neck.

I like his personality as well. Pretty down to earth while Mark Spitz seemed a bit of a prima donna. Spitz only swam two strokes while Phelps swims all four.

I would not be surprised to see him again, if we have failed to blow ourselves up. Do you want to see him again? I would love to though I doubt that he could equal the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Not to take away from his accomplishments, but I think that this question is not as straight forward as many think.

Is he the greatest Olympian swimmer ever? Yes, without a doubt.

The reason I have a hard time agreeing with the claim of the greatest outright Olympian ever is this.

How many Olympians actually get to compete for gold in as many events as Michael Phelps does, all revolving around one thing?

Regardless, he is quite remarkable.

Yep, Bolt turned in the most dominating sprint ever yet only gets to run a few times. Sprinters also tend to have short careers.

Wait a second. There are tons of track and field events. Phelps does all of the swims. Noyone else has done anything like it.

Without Phelps, the Chinese have cleaned our clocks.

I agree, there are a ton of track and field events, however, the high jump has very little in common with say the 10k, (which I just finished watching), where as all of the swimming events are very similar.

A sprinter is a sprinter, a distance runner is a distance runner, a swimmer is a swimmer. Phelps is without a doubt the most dominat swimmer to date. I just dont like looking at one athlete dominating his/her specialty and claiming they are the best olympian ever....but thats just me:)

Traditionally the winner of the decathlon was considered the overall dominating Olympian. This has lost some glamour because track and field purists have become rare. There is also the attention span factor; many want the instant gratification of a single competition.

I do appreciate the objective nature of swimming over the subjective BS of gymnastics. Judged events frustrate me to such a degree that I refuse to watch them.

I agree, I get frustrated also, but I watch em because I love the skill involved. I find all those who do gymnastics to be amazing...to hell with the score:)

The best ever? Here it is. (btw, tyvvm pt for that site. I have been laughing my buttox off)

http://current.com/items/89208361_the_gymnast_you_won_t_see_at_the_olympics

I think we need to consider the four strokes to be four different events.

Being a sprinter is better preparation for being a hurdler than the butterfly is for the back stroke.

If a gymnast took fourteen golds in four different events, that would be comparable.

The medley (all four strokes) is the decathlon of swimming.

Having said this, Bruce Jenner turned in one of the all time great Olympian performances. Then he got his nose barbie dolled and some men quit identifying with him.

I hope Phelps doesn't try to look like a Barbie doll with his winnings.

Today, Phelps said that he plans to return in 2012!

I predict six gold medals.

Imagine 20 gold medals. That has monetary value. They look to be about 2 ounces. I wonder how much gold is in them.

Imagine being so down that you have your gold metal melted down.

Anything can happen in the next four years that could knock Mr. Phelps off of his perch.

CZ is correct. When I watched Mark Spitz win his medals I didn't think he'd ever be surpassed, but he was knocked out of the water in no time. Phelps will be, too...eventually. However, I do agree that he's an incredible athlete and we'll be seeing him endorsing all kinds of things in the near future. His fortune is made. He'll also be wooed to be a commentator in future Olympics and swimming events covered by the msm...

He may even go into politics...who knows!

I corrected my spelling in my last post.

Mind you, I'm not down on the guy, Phelps. It's just that four years can be a long time in sports, especially to keep oneself conditioned and tip-top.

If Usain Bolt can keep himself fit, he could win all his events pretty well, too. But leg injuries always lurk around the corner with runners. And all it takes is a ham string injury like some of the other athletes suffered, and there goes your chances.

If anything, the Olympics is great drama about each sport and its stars.

I don't do road bikes, but I think the women's road bike in the rain was kewwwwl.

I would likely not support him after posing with Bush. Athletes didn't know it but being filmed with Bush lost the support of many people.

He is a good talker and Costas liked him so I would expect a future with the mike.