Michael Phelps pretty clearly is the greatest swimmer ever.
He has eight gold medals at the Olympics. He just went through an incredible grind, showed his skill at every stroke aside from the breast, and has stamina and speed, too. And he’s cool as an ice tray in an igloo.
I’m just not ready to declare a swimmer the greatest athlete ever. Not even the greatest Olympic athlete.
Not enough humans swim, is why. Phelps is the Babe Ruth of swimmers (Mark Spitz now being relegated to, oh, Honus Wagner) … but the swimming world is just a little too small.
My choice for greatest athlete?
Someone who won a Olympic decathlon.
The 10-event decathlon covers so many more areas of the athletic spectrum. Running, jumping, throwing, hand-eye coordination, brute strength.
It’s just a far fairer and sterner test of athleticism, and a more accessible one — considering that your kids could go out in the backyard and, aside from the pole vault, start practicing the rest of the events in the decathlon right now.
What percentage of in-their-prime humans can’t even swim? Half? More? Obviously, those folks aren’t going to compete for eight swimming golds.
Meanwhile, what percentage of in-their-prime humans can run and jump and throw? Right, just about all of them.
So, the great decathletes have to be at the top of the discussion.
And I’m going to end the discussion with … Jim Thorpe.
Thorpe won the decathlon at the 1912 Olympics by 700 points. He trashed the field. He also competed in two individual events, the high jump (finishing fourth) and long jump (seventh).
And if that isn’t enough, the man also played major-league baseball and professional football. He was a middling ballplayer (far better than Michael Jordan, though), but he was a great football player and competed long enough to be part of the NFL’s first season.
Other decathletes we could make an argument for include Roman Seberle, Bob Mathias, Bruce Jenner, Daley Thompson, Dan O’Brien, Rafer Johnson …
But I go with Thorpe. Everyone who saw him compete was impressed by how easily he seemed to do everything. How he was a star at anything he put his mind to.
Phelps would wipe him out in the pool. But on dry land, Phelps probably wouldn’t beat Thorpe in any sport ever invented.
6 responses so far ↓
1 cindy // Aug 17, 2008 at 8:22 AM
Swimming is one of my favorite sports, but I do agree. Most aquatic kids are horrible athletes on land. And visa-versa as you stated. But it’s kind of like comparing apples to oranges. Throw Jim Thorpe in the water and he’d likely sink.
I think what is true is all the hyperbole surrounding athletics and the need by some to “crown” an athlete the best, the greatest, ect. While swimming takes strength and endurance, in the water the best athletes are polo players. Polo players have strength, endurance, hand-eye coordination, throwing, brute strength and even jumping. But they don’t go for world records, just like football players and baseball players don’t go for world records, so one is not going to compare an individual from the team as “the greatest athlete.”
Phelps the greatest athlete? Nope, but the greatest swimmer? Yep. Just the fact he has seven world records wins the argument.
The greatest athlete ever? I don’t think there is an answer. I think Jim Thorpe was the greatest athlete of his ERA. How would he fare today? That’s a whole different argument.
Remember ABC sports had a competition among the top athletes years ago. Swimmers did not win. Football players did not win. Basketball players were the usual winners, so based on that, I guess Michael Jordan is the greatest athlete.
2 mark // Aug 17, 2008 at 8:37 AM
At one time Howard Cosell said Ali was the greatest BOXER of all times. Because even decades ago, athletes were already specializing in their sport to the exclusion of everything else.
We don’t see the three-sport high school athlete anymore because the kids are training year-round for just one sport. I doubt we’ll see a Jim Thorpe again. Is he the greatest? I don’t know, but he has my vote.
3 Eugene Fields // Aug 17, 2008 at 8:46 PM
I agree. Phelps showed he’s the master of the pool. But I think a decathlete like Thorpe, Dan O’Brien, Rafer Johnson, Bruce Jenner, etc – as well as Babe Diedrickson and Jackie Joyner were greater athletes.
I would even throw Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders in that mix
4 nickj // Aug 18, 2008 at 8:02 AM
my vote goes to antonio cromartie
5 Doug Padilla // Aug 18, 2008 at 10:02 AM
I give it to NickJ.
6 Doug // Aug 18, 2008 at 1:08 PM
During the ABC Superstars program in the 1970s it was soccer players who excelled. Kyle Rote Jr. won the U.S. athletes version several times and Canadian Brian Budd won the World Superstars version three times in a row.
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