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All I know is that in the history of any other sport, there has never been an athlete who so thoroughly dominates every aspect of competition.
Sure, Tiger Woods is amazing. But he's been beaten plenty of times and its not always a given that he will win.
Sure, Wayne Gretzky was an amazing hockey player but even his marks will be surpassed by the new generation of players and he wasnt the perfect all around player.
Sure, Michael Jordan was incredible but now there are other athletes that are competing and dominating just as much as he did (arguably Kobe Bryant).
But Michael Phelps... As long as he is in the pool, it's not even a question of who will win. He races alone against his own world records that he has set over and over and over again. Not to mention the gold medal thing. I think that's what separates him from any other athlete is just the sheer domination over his sport and the fact that there really isnt anyone out there who can challenge him at this point, and probably wont even in 2012 in London. Somebody will eventually beat him, but not any time soon. Just like Spitz.
And to those who say there are athletes out there who may be able to perform at Olympic levels or professional levels but dont for whatever reason (lack of desire/opportunity/etc)... They might as well not exist. Those are the people who are like the sad drunk old guy in the back of a bar ranting and raving about how they could have beaten so and so in the Olympics but didnt because of XYZ. Nobody fucking cares. You didnt do it, so you dont count for shit. STFU and keep drinking old man.
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