Michael Phelps greatest ever?

[rebel_1]

[QUOTE=cedargrove;6928372]I'd never look to American football or baseball to determine best athlete. An athlete participates in something requiring skil, strength and endurance. Neither of these require very much endurance.


American professional football is probably THE most physically demanding professional sport, period. That's why the average career length is the shortest of all sports.

[Runnin' Rebel]

I don't think they'll be a consensus on what makes the best althlete. What's that sport or race where they swim, ride a bike, run and a few other things, that's a great athlete right there

[BNA/LION]

Michael Phelps' ability to come back at 31 after everything he had done in the past Olympic is pretty impressive. A Great Athlete at the highest level to come back, fight the pressure and win is definitely special in any sport.

[seand442]

Originally Posted by Runnin' Rebel

I don't think they'll be a consensus on what makes the best althlete. What's that sport or race where they swim, ride a bike, run and a few other things, that's a great athlete right there

Exactly. Comparing a football player, soccer player, speed skater and a swimmer and any other athlete is pretty much impossible. If someone can cross over, maybe. I think it's better for all to compare people to others in their own sport. The olympics have showcased a lot of great athletes. Not sure I can claim any to be the greatest.

[AK797]

Originally Posted by cedargrove

I'd never look to American football or baseball to determine best athlete. An athlete participates in something requiring skil, strength and endurance. Neither of these require very much endurance.

Furthermore they aren't among the most popular sports world wide (Amercian football is almost non-existent outside the US and Canada). Baseball is very popular in the Americas (North, Central, South, Caribbean) and has gained popularity in many other countries, but still not among the most popular.

If I were to pick a team sport then it'd be soccer as it requires all aspects of strength, skill, and endurance (probably more endurance than most other team sports). However I'd still shy away from team sports as these athletes need to rely on many others.

If you're looking for versatility then I'd pick someone like Clara Hughes who has won Olympic medals in both winter and summer Games. Both cycling and speed skating also require strength, skill, and endurance.

She's not necessarily my pick, just and example, but I highly doubt the world would ever come close to agreeing on Bo. Unless you're specifically looking for best athlete in the US, but I still wouldn't pick Bo for some of my reasons above.

Considering all this criteria Tennis can make a claim to having the best all round athlete, having to individually master the greatest number of skillsets and the greatest international competition. So Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer have to enter the frame, and Serena on the women's.

[Manofsteelpt]

Originally Posted by cedargrove

I'd never look to American football or baseball to determine best athlete. An athlete participates in something requiring skil, strength and endurance. Neither of these require very much endurance.

Furthermore they aren't among the most popular sports world wide (Amercian football is almost non-existent outside the US and Canada). Baseball is very popular in the Americas (North, Central, South, Caribbean) and has gained popularity in many other countries, but still not among the most popular.

If I were to pick a team sport then it'd be soccer as it requires all aspects of strength, skill, and endurance (probably more endurance than most other team sports). However I'd still shy away from team sports as these athletes need to rely on many others.

If you're looking for versatility then I'd pick someone like Clara Hughes who has won Olympic medals in both winter and summer Games. Both cycling and speed skating also require strength, skill, and endurance.

She's not necessarily my pick, just and example, but I highly doubt the world would ever come close to agreeing on Bo. Unless you're specifically looking for best athlete in the US, but I still wouldn't pick Bo for some of my reasons above.

You've clearly never played American football.

No one said they were the most popular sports in the world.

We are discussing the best athlete, not the most versatile sport.

Bo was an all star and pro bowler plus he was an all American track and field athlete in college. Lotta skill, strength and endurance going on with that Bo guy.

A couple years ago, ESPN had a bracket poll over several weeks for the best athlete. They used public voting and a range of scientific metrics... and guess who came out on top? That Bo guy.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by seand442

Exactly. Comparing a football player, soccer player, speed skater and a swimmer and any other athlete is pretty much impossible. If someone can cross over, maybe. I think it's better for all to compare people to others in their own sport. The olympics have showcased a lot of great athletes. Not sure I can claim any to be the greatest.

Agreed,

[zama]

Originally Posted by edo

Yes, he lose one time in 13 years, with 1-0 result, in a very controversal lose... your argument is great

Phelps lost many times, you can't count number of times Jordan lost (especially without Pippen), and they are still and will always be in the greatest list...

Heather McKay did not lose a professional squash match in 20 years (16 times British champion the then highest title in the sport), so that matches it.......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_McKay

FYI a lot of these opinions seem to go down a patriotic country level.

My 2c as a person who loves sport and follows it all over the world. Phelps is the greatest olympian of all time and for mine the greatest sportsman of all time, the only argument against this is that swimming while global in nature probably rules out 70% of the world population with real access to a quality pool and coaches. Anyone can run and as such Bolt's achievement is probably nearly as worthy, lets just hope he is not on the juice!

Talk of Ali or Pele or others really is more to do with their impact on society than their record. Only Bradman in Cricket has dominated a team sport like nobody else he was 40% better than anyone else in history, but Cricket, like Basketball, Baseball and others is not sufficiently global in nature to define someone as the greatest athlete ever. Soccer or football is sufficiently global but comparing eras is tough. Fangio in motorsport has a claim but again a very narrow sport. He won no matter what car he got in, and all drivers rate him the best ever.

On mass I will stay with Phelps, yes relays have helped him a lot but averaging 6 Gold medals in 4 successive olympics is a record no body will ever match in any sport.

If you want a left field one for those that don't remember or know of the pocket Hercules check out the history of Naim Süleymanoğlu. 4F 11in and lifted 190kgs(419lbs) over his head! The greatest ever pound for pound lifter ever period.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naim_Süleymanoğlu

[rr-nyc]

Greatest swimmer, yes. Greatest athlete, no.

The "greatest athlete" would be a pointless argument because it has such a broad meaning. It's like musician, can anyone honestly say who the best musician is? What metric could you use?

If there has to be a greatest athlete, it would have to be someone that competed at the highest level in multiple sports.


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[mfer]

He dominates short swimming. There are many events. How many are team medals. Basically he has a chance to win many medals, where others can only win one.

He is amazing, but to me, can't consider him the greatest athlete of our time.

Best sprinting swimmer? Yes!

[daveathall]

Originally Posted by zama

Heather McKay did not lose a professional squash match in 20 years (16 times British champion the then highest title in the sport), so that matches it.......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_McKay

FYI a lot of these opinions seem to go down a patriotic country level.

My 2c as a person who loves sport and follows it all over the world. Phelps is the greatest olympian of all time and for mine the greatest sportsman of all time, the only argument against this is that swimming while global in nature probably rules out 70% of the world population with real access to a quality pool and coaches. Anyone can run and as such Bolt's achievement is probably nearly as worthy, lets just hope he is not on the juice!

Talk of Ali or Pele or others really is more to do with their impact on society than their record. Only Bradman in Cricket has dominated a team sport like nobody else he was 40% better than anyone else in history, but Cricket, like Basketball, Baseball and others is not sufficiently global in nature to define someone as the greatest athlete ever. Soccer or football is sufficiently global but comparing eras is tough. Fangio in motorsport has a claim but again a very narrow sport. He won no matter what car he got in, and all drivers rate him the best ever.

On mass I will stay with Phelps, yes relays have helped him a lot but averaging 6 Gold medals in 4 successive olympics is a record no body will ever match in any sport.

If you want a left field one for those that don't remember or know of the pocket Hercules check out the history of Naim Süleymanoğlu. 4F 11in and lifted 190kgs(419lbs) over his head! The greatest ever pound for pound lifter ever period.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naim_Süleymanoğlu

This is a fabulous argument. I have said this before, but it is Bradman for me and coming from an Englishman, as an Australian cricketer he must have been something special. He was.

I do understand the rest of your argument and agree with it, but tied down to only one sportsman, for me it's "The Don."

[eastbaysteve]

Jim Thorpe is the greatest "athlete" of all time.

[T. Ferguson]

The greatest athlete debate is fun, but in the end fruitless. Athletic pursuits require various skill sets and physical attributes, many of them mutually exclusive. Take strength and endurance as a prime example of that. A Rugby player or weight lifter can simply not compete with even a top amateur marathoner at distance running, and vice versa. The required biology just isn't there. Perhaps the decathlon is the best example of the all around athlete, but even that is a set of compromises. Rarely, if ever is a decathlete even close to the best in the world in any one of the events.

[subtona]

Amazing athlete with an unyielding effort.

Maybe the greatest maybe not, we are privileged to witness this.

[77T]

The best medaling swimmer no doubt.
After that it's apples and oranges; which of those are greater?

[DeeTee]

You guys are joking right?


This man is the pinnacle of sports............

[DeeTee]

If your talking straight up pound for pound athlete it's Bo Jackson.

[singe89]

Originally Posted by Manofsteelpt

You've clearly never played American football.

No one said they were the most popular sports in the world.

We are discussing the best athlete, not the most versatile sport.

Bo was an all star and pro bowler plus he was an all American track and field athlete in college. Lotta skill, strength and endurance going on with that Bo guy.

A couple years ago, ESPN had a bracket poll over several weeks for the best athlete. They used public voting and a range of scientific metrics... and guess who came out on top? That Bo guy.

Totally agree on all points. American football is also very dependent on position. QB doesn't require as much strength or speed as other positions but requires great intelligence, reaction speed, touch, arm strength and a 6th sense to feel pressure. RB require strength, speed, agility, explosiveness and vision to read blocks. Linemen require great size, strength and balance. Receives need speed, size, jumping ability, and hands, not to mention sharp route running. That's just the offensive side of the ball. Stamina and endurance is also needed because football is a sport where you need to go 100% for every play.

I was a good HS athlete going to state in football and track and field while also playing basketball. Went on to play football at a Pac 10 school in college. I was decent and I was benching 415lbs for over 10 reps, squatting 600+ and running a 4.8 sec 40 yard dash as a linebacker. I was barely good enough for college and no where nearly athletic enough for the NFL. The NFL has some seriously good athletes.

I agree with Bo Jaclson being the best athlete ever. Size, strength, power/explosiveness, hand eye coordination, flexibility, metal intelligence/toughness etc. He could mentally and physically break down people in multiple sports.

Very hard to compre athletes these days because everyone has become 1 sport specialists. I hope I see another multi sport Bo Jackson in my lifetime.