We all know by now that Michael Phelps is a great swimmer, maybe one of the best ever. But is he better than the great Mark Spitz?
According to MarkSpitzUSA.com, Spitz is the "most notable athlete of all-time" and "synonymous with excellence." Pretty high marks for Phelps to live up to. And not only was Spitz the greatest Olympian of all-time, he also "went on to have an equally impressive career out of the pool," reports MarkSpitzUSA.com. "Mark is also a world-renown public speaker, and gives motivational speeches at various events." And those speeches are so damn good, so damned renown, that they are equally as impressive as his swim career.
Michael Phelps has broken all of Mark Spitz' Olympic records. Phelps has won 22 Olympic medals, 18 of which are gold -- both are all-time Olympic records. Spitz won 11 medals, including 9 golds. Spitz won seven gold medals in a single games. Phelps won eight. Phelps is the world record-holder in the 200m butterfly -- an event he won gold in in three straight games. Phelps' best time: 50.58 second. Spitz was also a great butterflier, and twice won gold in the 100m fly. He set a new world record in the event in 1972, with a time of 54.27, nearly four seconds slower than Phelps.
But as we all know it's terribly unfair to compare times, etc. from two different eras. Perhaps Spitz himself said it best, talking to the New York Daily News in 2008 after Phelps won 8 golds in Athens:
"I think that the relationship between people that are great is they have a common thread of knowing how to beat their competitors and they know how to constantly be in shape and in top form," said Spitz. "If that's the case, I'd know everything about how to beat Michael. He'd also know everything to beat me. We'd have to tie."
So Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps would tie if they would have raced? Generous of Spitz to say, but not so fast...
There's one big thing everyone misses when they make the Phelps/Spitz comparison: Mark Spitz swam with a mustache. Michael Phelps doesn't.
"During a time when most swimmers were clean-shaven, Mark was rebellious and swam with facial hair," says MarkSpitzUSA.com. "Most swimmers believe body hair slows a person down, but Mark called his mustache a 'good luck piece' and kept it throughout his Olympic competitions."
Not only was Phelps a torpedo in the pool, he was a bad boy, a rebel, and pretty much a sex God.
Do you think Phelps could have won half the medals he's won if he were swimming with a mustache? Do you think he could ever grow a mustache?
Please, Phelps, go back to the kiddie pool. There is only one swimmer who is synonymous with greatness.
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