Should Michael Phelps compete again in 2012?

**boybi** · August 18th, 2008 08:51 AM

Do you think Michael Phelps should retire from the Olympics after Beijing 2008?

**empy** · August 18th, 2008 09:46 AM

i think he should, and believe he will. in his last interview he talked about resting, taking some time off, and then starting to train for the world championships.

he's still young, and already some of the haters here are saying that he's not as good as athletes like Carl Lewis who were able to dominate three Olympics...sabi nila he's not their match because he's only competed and done well in two

**empy** · August 18th, 2008 09:46 AM

i think he should, and believe he will. in his last interview he talked about resting, taking some time off, and then starting to train for the world championships.

he's still young, and already some of the haters here are saying that he's not as good as athletes like Carl Lewis who were able to dominate three Olympics...sabi nila he's not their match because he's only competed and done well in two

**shadow** · August 18th, 2008 10:00 AM

absolutely!!! he's still young and I think he can still dominate the nest Olympic but my only concern is will he still have the same drive?

**daimengrui** · August 18th, 2008 10:08 AM

The guy is just 23, he shows no signs of being senile. It's not a matter of he should. He definitely would. The question is by how many golds this time. 8? 9?

His career is FAR from retirement. Carl Lewis was 23 when he won Gold in his first Olympics. While Phelps was just 15 in his first Olympic try (where he didn't win anything as I suppose this was for exposure). Yup definitely not a match Phelps is the better athlete AFAIC.

**niky** · August 18th, 2008 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by daimengrui

The guy is just 23, he shows no signs of being senile. It's not a matter of he should. He definitely would. The question is by how many golds this time. 8? 9?

His career is FAR from retirement. Carl Lewis was 23 when he won Gold in his first Olympics. While Phelps was just 15 in his first Olympic try (where he didn't win anything as I suppose this was for exposure). Yup definitely not a match Phelps is the better athlete AFAIC..

QFT... hahaha... But you can't really compare those two... Carl Lewis was great, but the competition in running is tough...

Phelps just doesn't have any competition in his league at this point... He's so much faster than the rest that it's embarrassing... even when he leaps off the blocks slowly, he's still a few seconds ahead by the finish line.

Only time will tell if Phelps has the same lasting power as Lewis... but he's already eclipsed the medal record.

**empy** · August 18th, 2008 11:17 AM

the BS that i hear too is that it's easier for Phelps because swimming takes less toll on one's body. track and field is supposedly much more difficult.

such garbage. well, what about the gymnastics all-around competition and the decathlon? multiple grueling events back-to-back-to-back. so forget Carl Lewis, the best Olympic athletes should be Bruce Jenner and Nadia Comaneci!

the point is - compare each athlete to the competition he has. is Tiger Woods less dominant than Michael Jordan because his sport is "less physically demanding"? is less great?

**empy** · August 18th, 2008 11:17 AM

t*e na naman tong mga dobol fosts

**fourtheboys96** · August 18th, 2008 12:14 PM

phelps is a swimming great.

call me a hater, but calling him the greatest olympian based on the number of golds won is just not right.

his sport allowed him to participate in many events just like carl lewis, jesse owens, mark spitz etc.

however, there are a lot of athletes out there who dominated their sport in multiple olympics but only one gold per olympic.

**CVT** · August 18th, 2008 01:22 PM

I believe he should. And Matt Biondi, on our - wife and myself- personal conversation with him a few days ago in the Beijing Olympics, also thinks so.

By that time in 2012, Phelps would be 27 years old. Matt Biondi, a multi-medalled US Olympian swimmer himself, last participated in the 1992 Olympics when he was 27 years old. (OT- I am sure Matt is also happy today for M. Phelps as he was rooting for him to break Mark Spitz' record, which by the way was a burden to Matt during his Olympic swimming days....

)

6610:secret: