The Greatest Athlete of His Generation?

1972 Olympic champ stays gracious after record falls to Phelps

(NEWSER) - Outspoken and prickly in the best of times, Mark Spitz is slowly adjusting to being the second-greatest Olympian of all time, the Wall Street Journal reports. Mustering a little grace for the occasion, Spitz says he's relieved at the downgrade. "He's got the burden of inspiring the youth as they go forward," Spitz says. "That is a relief." More»

Swimmer inspired America to love the games again

(NEWSER) - If the Chinese invented organized sports 6,000 years ago, writes Pat Forde on ESPN.com, then how appropriate that Michael Phelps came to Beijing to prove he was “the apotheosis of the athlete.” And America knows it. In a year when the Olympics had become “passe,” tens of millions of enthusiastic Americans rooted for Phelps in a way not seen since the Miracle on Ice. He “single-handedly saved the Olympics,” Forde writes. More»

Swimmer balanced domination with near-misses

(NEWSER) - Michael Phelps’ quest for eight gold medals was a perfect sports story for America: we like our athletes to either dominate or come from behind at the last minute, and Phelps delivered on both counts. He was both “the juggernaut and the ninth-inning home run with two outs and two strikes,” writes Mike Lopresti in USA Today—and that made him “the most compelling figure to slice through water since Jaws.” More»

(NEWSER) - At 23, Michael Phelps is poised to win the most gold medals ever by an individual at the Beijing Games, and earn some $5 million in endorsement deals for companies such as Visa and Speedo. Yet Phelps’ journey—from an 8-year-old throwing a temper tantrum after his first swimming loss to arguably the best swimmer of all time—has been a slow maturation, reports the Baltimore Sun. More»

(NEWSER) - Michael Phelps demolished both the 100-meter butterfly world record and any lingering concerns about his fitness at the US Nationals yesterday, USA Today reports. Phelps—who returned to training less than five months ago—finished in 50.22 seconds, breaking the 50.40 record set by fellow American Ian Crocker in 2005. More»