Phelps, greatest athlete of all time.

[sechog]

Could Phelps be the greatest athlete of all time.  I think he may be, just by how hard Olympic swimming is and by the way he just wipes out his competition and world record after world record. I beleive he is greater in his sport than what Tiger is in his. What do you all think.

[jamie72921]

No way!

Mary Lou Retton was much more dominant.

[neahog]

He may be and I'm pulling for him, but swimming honestly isn't that interesting imho. I wish that American football was an olympic sport!

[sechog]

No way!

Mary Lou Retton was much more dominant.

Well, one more gold medal and he will have won more than any olympic athlete ever in any sport.

[kingoftherapids]

yea, he is the most dominant/dynamic swimmer that we have ever witnessed. if he breaks 8 world records and wins his 8 golds then nobody can argue about this.

[jamie72921]

Well, one more gold medal and he will have won more than any olympic athlete ever in any sport.

He has more opportunities to win them.

How many does the fencing champion have an opportunity to win? If the champion of the decathlon wins all 10 events, he only gets one medal even if he sets world records in each event.

Medal count is not a good measure, after all the record he would be breaking is another swimmer's, Mark Spitz. Coincidence, probably not.

[kingoftherapids]

exactly... why does he have more opportunities? because he is so dynamic and can swim distance and sprint... at any stroke. how many 3000 steeplechasers do you see winning the 800, mile, and 10k? none. hell, you don't even see a 100 meter hurdler win the 400 hurdles.

[jamie72921]

exactly... why does he have more opportunities? because he is so dynamic and can swim distance and sprint... at any stroke. how many 3000 steeplechasers do you see winning the 800, mile, and 10k? none. hell, you don't even see a 100 meter hurdler win the 400 hurdles.

Did you miss the decathlon example?

He has more opportunities, because the swimming events are less demanding on the individual than the other sports. The distances are the same in many of the events, it is only the style that changes.

You would have to have the hurdler run the race sideways, backward, on his knees, on all fours etc to begin to get a parallel.

[Brand X Hog Fan]

Arguably he is the greatest swimmer of all time. I wouldn't say greatest athlete. Carl Lewis may hold that honor, it is hard to say. As mentioned before, it is hard to overlook a decathlete as being the world's greatest athlete due to the diversity of skills he must possess.

At any rate, it sure is fun watching Phelps destroy the competition. He is a beast!

[Hoggy1]

Greatest of all time is ole J.B.

[kingoftherapids]

i think he is the most dominant athlete of all time in his sport...

they are just as demanding but the shape that these guys are in is phenomenal. i dont care what sport it is...   carl lewis could run, jump and do everything else, but i promise you that he never ran over 5 miles in practice.... here is a michael phelps workout when he was just 15.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 19, 2000
3:45 PM (SCY) (NO AM PRACTICE)
3 X [200 FR on 2:40/ 200 IM on 2:45 I 200 K on 3:15 I 200 STR DR on 3:00] (2,400)
MP RESULTS
2x100on1:2050FR/50 FL
1 x 200 on 2:30 FRIM
1 x 300 on 4:00 FL (3:03,3:01)
1 x 200 on 2:30 FR
1 x 300 on 4:15 100BA I 100 BRST I 100 FR
1 x 200 on 2:40 FL (1:57, 1:56.4)
1 x 300 on 3:45 FR
1 x 400 on 5:15 FRIM
3 x 100 on 1:30 FL (59,57,56.1)
1 x 200 on 2:40 FR (57.5,55.0,54.0)
(2 TIMES THROUGH)
(5,200)
24x50K
2 on :55 MODERATE
1 on :45 FAST (MP did BA averaging :30 (fastest 27.5)) (1,200)
200 SW DN
9,000 SCY
POST PRACTICE
Mod ball / Abdominal Circuit
3 x :30 chest pass
:30 behind head pass
:30 right to right pass
:30 left to left pass
3 x 1:00 wall sit
1:00 leg curls
1:00 crunches
1:00 v-sits
REPEAT 2 TIMES = 40 minutes
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2001
AM (SCY)
800 (100 FR / 100 IM) on 11:00
600 K (50 FR / 50 STR) on 9:30
400 P13 (LB by 100) on 5:00
12 x 50 (25 FR / 25 FL) on :45 (2,400)
Stroke Control Set
10 x 50 FL on :45 (averaged 30.5)
5 x 50 FL on :35 (averaged 28.0)
10 x 50 FL on :45 (averaged 30.2)
5 x 50 FL on :35 (averaged 28.0)
10 x 50 FL on :45 (averaged 30.3)
5 x 50 FL on :35 (27.4, 27.7, 27.9, 27.1, 26.6) (2,250)

3 x 400(100 IM DRILLS) on 6:00
4 x 100 FR on 1:10 (HOLD 1:00) (2,400)
7,050 SCY
POST PRACTICE
Mod ball Circuit
Repeat 3 Times (:30 exercise / :15 rest)
chest pass* behind head pass* right to right* left to left* between legs front squat throw jump pass bounce pass
*round 1= standing / round 2 = kneeling / round 3 = seated feet up
18 minutes

That is 9 miles of swimming. not just feet moving... but your arms too. i challenge anyone to jump in the water and swim 100 meters. swimming is the most demanding sport in the world... sure you can make a case for marathoners but nonetheless they are doing half of the motion that swimming is doing.

[HangTenHog]

Interesting thought....there were other dominant swimmers and athletes in other eras....I wouldn't discount Thorpe or Kahanamoku either....although we didn't witness them....they also had great talent in the day where folks really didn't train. So, how do you quantify that?

Sort of like comparing Crazy Legs to Alworth to Rice...interesting to compare, but really not something that can be done outside of the era.

Having said that....Phelps is perhaps the best of our era...

[kingoftherapids]

agreed. +1     

i guarantee you that my kids (at least 5 years away) won't think michael jordan is the greatest of all time...

[RZRBack_FAN]

Well if anybody here has been watching the olympics you know that almost every record has been broken in these olympics.

So not only is he the best of our Era but he is the best of all time. Swimming has become faster and faster. they were talking today about how records that were broke last year are being shattered this year because everyone is getting so much faster.

You cant say he isnt the best when he owns almost every record their is. Its really not even up for discussion.

[Hog on the Hill]

I don't know, Jack LaLanne was never an Olympic athlete but he accomplished some pretty amazing things (notice his age at each of these feats):

    * 1954 (age 40): Jack swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, underwater, with 140 pounds of equipment, including two air tanks. A world record.
    * 1955 (age 41): Jack swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed. When interviewed afterwards he was quoted as saying that the worst thing about the ordeal was being handcuffed, which reduced his chance to star jump significantly.
    * 1956 (age 42): Jack set a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on You Asked For It, a television program with Art Baker. Former Princeton University wrestler Ryan Bonfiglio broke this record on May 5, 2008. Bonfiglio did 1,000 push ups in 20 minutes 50 seconds.[8]
    * 1957 (age 43): Jack swam the Golden Gate channel while towing a 2,500-pound cabin cruiser. The swift ocean currents turned this one-mile swim into a swimming distance of 6.5 miles.
    * 1958 (age 44): Jack maneuvered a paddleboard nonstop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore. The 30-mile trip took 9.5 hours.
    * 1959 (age 45): Jack did 1,000 star jumps and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour, 22 minutes. His well-known white German shepherd, Happy, was born this year, the same year The Jack LaLanne Show went nationwide.
    * 1974 (age 60): For the second time, Jack swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf. Again, he was handcuffed, but this time he was also shackled and towed a 1,000-pound boat.
    * 1975 (age 61): Repeating his performance of 21 years earlier, Jack again swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater and handcuffed, but this time he was shackled and towed a 1,000-pound boat.
    * 1976 (age 62): To commemorate the "Spirit of '76", United States Bicentennial, Jack swam one mile in Long Beach Harbor. He was handcuffed and shackled, and he towed 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people.
    * 1979 (age 65): Jack towed 65 boats in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan. He was handcuffed and shackled, and the boats were filled with 6,500 pounds of Louisiana Pacific wood pulp.
    * 1980 (age 66): Jack towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida. The boats carried 77 people, and he towed them for over one mile in less than one hour.
    * 1984 (age 70): Once again handcuffed and shackled, Jack fought strong winds and currents as he swam 1.5 miles while towing 70 boats with 70 people from the Queen's Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary.
    * 1992 (age 78): Jack received the Academy of Body Building and Fitness Award.
    * 1994 (age 80): Jack received the State of California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award.
    * 1996 (age 82): Jack received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award.
    * 1999 (age 85): Jack received the Spirit of Muscle Beach Award.
    * 2002 (age 88): Jack received a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame.
    * 2004 (age 90): Jack celebrated his 90th birthday in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. ESPN Classic ran a 24-hour marathon of the original Jack LaLanne television shows.
    * 2004 (age 90): Jack became the official spokesperson for Covenant Reliance Producers, LLC, a Financial Marketing Organization based in Nashville Tennessee
    * 2005 (age 91): Jack received the Jack Webb Award from the Los Angeles Police Department Historical Society, the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award, Interglobal's International Infomercial Award, the Freddie, and the Medical Media Public Service Award, and he was a Free Spirit honoree at Al Neuharth's Freedom Forum.

(from wikipedia)

[The Great Hambino]

DMAC > Phelps

[JoePaul03]

DMAC > Phelps

Where does Ditka fit into that equation?

[eddyhog]

The term "greatest athlete" should imply the ability to compete at the highest level in multiple sports. Jim Thorpe played professional football and baseball and was one of the best track athletes of his time.

The way athletes specialize these days we don't see that kind of thing happening anymore. There are still great athletes out there. They don't have the time to compete in two or three different sports.

Dion Sanders played pro football and baseball as did Bo Jackson. Those two sports require dissimiliar skills so they certainly qualify as great athletes.

On the other hand many athletes who excell at one sport may be horrible in another.
Joe Frazier, one of top heavyweight boxers of all time, almost drowned trying to swim in a made for TV sports competition I saw when I was a kid.

I was at Arvest Ballpark not long ago when Ronnie Brewer threw out the first pitch. He threw the ball like like somebody who'd never picked up a baseball in his life.

If after the Olympics Phelps pops up as a pro baseball player, a pro soccer star or maybe on the PGA tour then we'll talk about him being the greatest athlete.
He does look like he'd be a good wide receiver.

[Silver Hog]

No way!

Mary Lou Retton was much more dominant.

And cuter too.

[tbhogfan]

Phelps is a great swimmer.  Maybe the best ever.  I would think that the greatest athlete would have to participate in sports that have a higher participation level.   

And is anyone else sick and tired of KARK's obsession with a flash flood watch?  I knew that they would go into weather hype overdrive, but if you are going to do this, at least get graphics like KTHV that sit on the side of the HD picture and don't destroy all of the graphics.

[cypert2]

Greatest athelete? No way. Greatest swimmer? Yes.

[hogsanity]

I was amazed to find out, when Spitz was swimming in the olympics, they were not even allowed to wear goggles.  He swam with a mustache, and I dont think he wore a skull cap either, and he had a lot of hair too. 

Phelps is an amazing swimmer, and I am sure he is in great physical shape.  Hard to claim anyone is the best athlete ever.

[webbgem]

He may not be the greatest athlete ever, even though that is immeasurable, but after these Olympics, it will be hard to argue that he won't be the greatest Olympian ever. 

[hogsanity]

Didnt Eric Hyden win a ton of speedskating medals, then win a cycling medal in the summer games later on?

[40YrHogFan]

My vote goes to Lance Armstrong. 7 titles of a road race that is over 2100 miles long.

[OGR69]

without a doubt he is one of-if not the best-swimmers of our time.
Records are made to be broken.  Like in other sports (golf and baseball for example)-todays technology and training make it easier to break the records of yester-year.  The atheletes still have to be in prime condition, but the training and recovery systems are so much better and improving daily.  And like has been said-many atheletes of today specialize-they do not compete in multiple sports/events.  Although he competes in several different events/distances/strokes-he is not in the water then on a track then on a bike or on a field. 
Sad as it is-that mentality is working its way to youth sports.  So many kids today are choosing or being forced to choose 1 sport/activity to participate in.  Gone soon will be the kids that play multiple sports so they can concentrate on 1 sport in order to get into college or sign a big contract in the pros.

[OTTER]

without a doubt he is one of-if not the best-swimmers of our time.
Records are made to be broken.  Like in other sports (golf and baseball for example)-todays technology and training make it easier to break the records of yester-year.  The atheletes still have to be in prime condition, but the training and recovery systems are so much better and improving daily.  And like has been said-many atheletes of today specialize-they do not compete in multiple sports/events.  Although he competes in several different events/distances/strokes-he is not in the water then on a track then on a bike or on a field. 
Sad as it is-that mentality is working its way to youth sports.  So many kids today are choosing or being forced to choose 1 sport/activity to participate in.  Gone soon will be the kids that play multiple sports so they can concentrate on 1 sport in order to get into college or sign a big contract in the pros.

I agree with your statement that kids need to participate in a variety of sports.  Too many parents are pushing their children to specialize at too young an age and far too many kids are burning out too fast, instead of loving the sport, they hate it.  My dad had the theory that there is a sport for everyone to enjoy--just go out and try them till you find it.

[songofthesword]

i swim everyday... the more i swim the more admoration I have for him. that crap is hard son. i mean i can swim laps but it might very well be the best pure exercise you can do for your body besides uphill wind sprints which I also do.

I swim 50 laps a day and I'm in recoup mode for 30 mintues after that eveyday. he swims 9 miles. and i've been an athlete my entire life

[masonselby]

Did you miss the decathlon example?

He has more opportunities, because the swimming events are less demanding on the individual than the other sports. The distances are the same in many of the events, it is only the style that changes.

You would have to have the hurdler run the race sideways, backward, on his knees, on all fours etc to begin to get a parallel.

less demanding?? i think not. he has to swim heats and semis in all his events, sometimes gets only an hour or less break. if you want to compare it to the decathalon, say the winner of the decath wins every event and sets a world record in all ten of those events. calling him the greatest athlete of all time is tough because thats just comparing apples and oranges but i would probably call him easily the most dominant athlete in his specific sport. he is almost as dominant as houston nutt is at coaching college football....simply the greatest ever.

[SpareRib]

less demanding?? i think not. he has to swim heats and semis in all his events, sometimes gets only an hour or less break. if you want to compare it to the decathalon, say the winner of the decath wins every event and sets a world record in all ten of those events. calling him the greatest athlete of all time is tough because thats just comparing apples and oranges but i would probably call him easily the most dominant athlete in his specific sport. he is almost as dominant as houston nutt is at coaching college football....simply the greatest ever.

I agree with you, Mason ... well, maybe some question over the last part. 

[masonselby]

but houston holds world records for the most repeating of phrases like "we showed a lot of heart today", "i just want to thank the band and cheerleaders", and "here on 3rd and 10 we thought we'd catch them off guard with the draw". Houston "phelps" nutt, my olympic champion.

[hogsanity]

without a doubt he is one of-if not the best-swimmers of our time.
Records are made to be broken.  Like in other sports (golf and baseball for example)-todays technology and training make it easier to break the records of yester-year.  The atheletes still have to be in prime condition, but the training and recovery systems are so much better and improving daily.  And like has been said-many atheletes of today specialize-they do not compete in multiple sports/events.  Although he competes in several different events/distances/strokes-he is not in the water then on a track then on a bike or on a field. 
Sad as it is-that mentality is working its way to youth sports.  So many kids today are choosing or being forced to choose 1 sport/activity to participate in.  Gone soon will be the kids that play multiple sports so they can concentrate on 1 sport in order to get into college or sign a big contract in the pros.

Well, I agree that kids should play multiple sports and engage in other activities (learning a musical instrument for example), but, when it become obvious that a person is gifted like Phelps is it is only natural that they will gravitate to what they are good at.

[SpareRib]

but houston holds world records for the most repeating of phrases like "we showed a lot of heart today", "i just want to thank the band and cheerleaders", and "here on 3rd and 10 we thought we'd catch them off guard with the draw". Houston "phelps" nutt, my olympic champion.

The Nutt Award!  I say we call it the "Hootie."

[BleednRed87]

Not a chance. Best swimmer hands down and entertaining to watch for sure. Not a terrific athlete though.


Best athletes would be like Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson imo. Also, Michael Jordan would have been great at anything he put his mind to as would Tiger Woods if he had chosen a diff sport

[PepperoniPig]

He looks like he could be a great athlete but not the greatest ever.

Probably the greatest swimmer ever.

[Hognum P.I.]

I thought Nanu from "tiny Merrivale College" was the World's Greatest Athlete?  Did I miss something?  Crap, they even made a movie about him.

[Hoggy1]

less demanding?? i think not. he has to swim heats and semis in all his events, sometimes gets only an hour or less break. if you want to compare it to the decathalon, say the winner of the decath wins every event and sets a world record in all ten of those events. calling him the greatest athlete of all time is tough because thats just comparing apples and oranges but i would probably call him easily the most dominant athlete in his specific sport. he is almost as dominant as houston nutt is at coaching college football....simply the greatest ever.

I hope this is a joke....

[archdlux]

Greatest Athlete?  Impossible to answer; fun to debate.  To me, the "best" athlete would be someone that could/does excel in almost any arena. MJ had unbelievable talent in basketball, but give him a golf club or a baseball bat, and he was still elite.  Give him a volleyball, and in 30 days, he'd probably be playing in a Pro-Am. Same kind of versatility with Deion, Bo, and Thorpe, and others.  Phelps?  I don't know; give him a hockey stick, and let's see.  Otherwise, he is arguably the greatest swimming talent without a moustache (Chinese female athletes included) who also had an amazing training regimen for the past decade and the benefit of the Speedo LZR suits.  He is no doubt a purpose-built machine, much like Lance A.  Either way, Go USA! Hope he gets all 8 this year.

[hogman]

Did you miss the decathlon example?

He has more opportunities, because the swimming events are less demanding on the individual than the other sports. The distances are the same in many of the events, it is only the style that changes.

You would have to have the hurdler run the race sideways, backward, on his knees, on all fours etc to begin to get a parallel.

Good point, but he's not the only one who enters more than one event. As a matter of fact, hundreds of olympians enter multiple events, if not thousands.

[hogman]

i swim everyday... the more i swim the more admoration I have for him. that crap is hard son. i mean i can swim laps but it might very well be the best pure exercise you can do for your body besides uphill wind sprints which I also do.

I swim 50 laps a day and I'm in recoup mode for 30 mintues after that eveyday. he swims 9 miles. and i've been an athlete my entire life

To back this, did you see Phelps last night? He owns the world record and 50 minutes later (and most of that time was accepting his gold metal) he sprints to the warm down pool, gets 5-10 minutes of warm down, then ties the olympic record in the next semi-final. Most swimmers wouldn't even be able to race an hour later and finish higher than dead last.

[PorkSoda]

Could Phelps be the greatest athlete of all time.  I think he may be, just by how hard Olympic swimming is and by the way he just wipes out his competition and world record after world record. I beleive he is greater in his sport than what Tiger is in his. What do you all think.

To be the greatest "Athlete" he would need to compete in more than just swimming.  He could be the greatest olympic swimmer of all time, but not the greatest overall "Athlete".

[The Lemming]

 Wahls7 says it's Peyton Hillis in a landslide?

[RazorBassin]

The Nutt Award!  I say we call it the "Hootie."

This could be great, we could all nominate a weekly winner of the "Hootie" award.  +1

[Brownie Tuggle]

He may become the best swimmer of all time. But best athelete? Swimming is tough. But Boxing is tougher. Let someone hit you upside your head at 234 pounds every other day and holla at me.

[DOGALUM]

Greatest olympian of all time....no doubt.

Greatest athlete of all time....in my opinion....was Bo Jackson.

[The Lemming]

I'm not sure how you could say the greatest olympian is someone who only does one thing, i.e., swimming fast or running fast at multiple distances. I'd think you'd reserve the greatest olympian tag for someone who does multiple events like the gymnastic events or decathlon.
If you're fast you're fast. Period. Doesn't really matter the distance, relatively (sprint vs distance, I get it)

[razorbacker3]

There is not a single individual that can be given the title "greatest athlete" of all time. No way to gauge, test, or compare. Opinions are like posters...everyone has one and they all stink.
My opinion....Jim Brown....the greatest lacrosse player and football player in his era.

[El Puerco]

You must be kidding.  Because he has a lot of gold medals?  Let's stick with greatest swimmer of all time.  For all you know this guy could run like a donkey, jump like a snail, and throw like a girl. 
If they dissected the swimming up even more (50m, 100m, 200m, 250m, 300m, 400m and on and on) maybe he could win eleventy million gold medals.
Greatest swimmer, yes.  Athlete, no.

[Brownie Tuggle]

There is not a single individual that can be given the title "greatest athlete" of all time. No way to gauge, test, or compare. Opinions are like *******s...everyone has one and they all stink.
My opinion....Jim Brown....the greatest lacrosse player and football player in his era.

I agree with that. Jim Brown, man was he a load! How they jipped him out of the Hiesman Trophy is Beyond me!!!!

[jamie72921]

i swim everyday... the more i swim the more admoration I have for him. that crap is hard son. i mean i can swim laps but it might very well be the best pure exercise you can do for your body besides uphill wind sprints which I also do.

I swim 50 laps a day and I'm in recoup mode for 30 mintues after that eveyday. he swims 9 miles. and i've been an athlete my entire life

Swimming is one of the least body damaging sports there is.

You are not going to tear an acl......roll an ankle.......throw your arm out.......etc.

People, you are not even supporting your own body weight, the water is doing a great deal of that for you.

The idea that a swimmer is the greatest athlete of our time is ridiculous.