Yesterday I wrote about how Michael Phelps is not a better athlete than Lebron James after he was voted as so on ESPN. And while that voting seemed ridiculous, NBC likes to take it one step further and continuously describing Phelps as the American greatest athlete of all time. Can we please not get carried away and say things that are wee bit ridiculous. First of all if it wasn't for the Olympics having a ludicrous amount of swimming events (17) Phelps could potentially be just another one of the great gold medalists in the US. Sure there's a ton of differences in each stroke but in reality he only competes in events in 2 of them plus the medleys. He has the best butterfly stroke of all time and thus he wins two gold medals right there. And then he obviously is the best overall swimmer in the world so he wins two more golds in the Medley. Next he has 3 relays, one of which it was his teammate who won the race. And finally he has 200 meter free style which is what diversifies him from other swimmers who typically focus on an individual stroke. But its not as if he dominates all things swimming, he will finish the Olympics with zero medals in the Breast Stroke and Back Stroke competitions.
The guy is an American hero and an American icon, he should rightfully be proclaimed the best swimmer of all time and perhaps the best Olympian of all time. But please please please can we stop calling him the greatest Athlete in American history.
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