Michael Phelps: Great Olympian, but is He the Greatest Athlete?

It's hard not to turn on a television or read a newspaper and not hear praise about Olympic gold medal swimmer, Michael Phelps, who has made history in Beijing, China. He has definitely become an instant legend in our beloved country and I am proud to see him represent us with such dominance.

After Phelps earned an unbelievable 8 gold medals this summer, I have heard some people on the news s referring to Michael Phelps as possibly being greatest athlete. Greatest athlete? Hey, I think he is awesome, too, but to even think about classifying him as our greatest athlete seems to be a bit of a stretch. I would be OK with saying "Greatest Swimmer" or even "Greatest Athlete in His Sport," but to give him the overall title of "Greatest Athlete" does not do other athletes justice.

If you're going to classify a swimmer as a best athlete, then what's next? What if there was a man who won 10 gold medals in ping pong? Or what if there was a woman who won 10 gold medals in lawn darts? Ten gold medals is a lot, but would you classify a ping pong player or a lawn dart player as the greatest athlete, as well? Where do we draw the line?

Swimming for medals is no easy task. It takes a lot of training, focus and determination, but the amount of athleticism shown in this sport is not that astounding. Basically, you have a person that is simply going in straight lines from point A to point B. Think about this . . . if you see a little kid swimming like a fish in the swimming pool, what do you say to yourself? Do you say "that kid is a great athlete" or do you say "that kid is a great swimmer!" Now walk over to the baseball field and watch the kid that is running like the wind across the diamond, throwing the ball at incredible speeds, making countless diving catches and hitting homerun after homerun. What do you say to yourself now? Do you say "that kid is a great baseball player" or do you say "that kid is a great athlete!"

The sport of swimming just doesn't show us enough to merit classifying a swimmer as the greatest athlete. Is Michael Phelps a phenomenal athlete? Many of us really do not know the answer to that question. Let us see how Phelps can perform on a baseball or soccer field and maybe we'll have a better idea. But until we see that, Phelps should simply be looked at as the "Greatest Swimmer," not the "Greatest Athlete."