Everyone was amazed at how great American swimmer Michael Phelps was during the 2008 Beijing Olympics having won eight gold medals. This is the most an athlete had in a single Olympics. The record was previously held by Mark Spitz, also an American swimmer, who has won seven gold medals in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Michael Phelps also holds the record of having the most career Olympic gold medals with a total of 14. He seems to be enjoying breaking world records as he has done so with 38 swimming events as of December 19, 2009.
All in all, Phelps has earned 16 Olympic medals that include six gold and two bronze medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics and the aforementioned eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He is second to Larissa Latynina, a Soviet gymnast, who currently holds the title of having the most career Olympic medals with a total of 18 which she achieved over three Olympics, including nine gold medals.
The world titles as well as the record-breaking achievements of Michael Phelps have secured him the honours of being the World Swimmer of the Year six times and also the American Swimmer of the Year eight times. So far, his career medals count up to 55 in major worldwide competitions - 45 gold, seven silver medals and two bronze medals - covering the Pan Pacific and the World Championships and the Olympics. His exceptional triumph during the 2008 Beijing Olympics has made him the Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine. All the American flags in the world are clearly smiling wide with pride because of what Michael Phelps has achieved in his career.
Michael Phelps father might not have played a popular sport but his son did dominate of the hardest sports to train for at a time when the sport is at its peak. Swimmers from all over the world tried to prevent Phelps rise to perfection and they failed. Now, confused journalist are trying to minimize his feat but they will fail too, because the parameters are simple: Michal Phelps dominates swimming that has competitors all over the planet at a time when the sport is at it's peak and training methods are highly developed. Phelps' feat does not take anything away from Maradona, Jordan, Pele, Muhamed Ali, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Bo Jackson, Carl Lewis or Mark Spitz but it does put him into a category of his own: the phelpsian dimension.
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