Should Michael Phelps compete again in 2012?

[daimengrui]

Am agreeing with you and perhaps expanding on some points.

[Zeus]

Yes he should, he should compete for 7 more consecutive olympics, and each time win 8 golds to make it 8, 8 and by the 8th olympics, he might already be in his 80's ...and wow 8, 8, 8 lucky numbers again

[fourtheboys96]

- Gold in 8 out of 8 events. Sweep.

-7 of those 8 events resulted in new world records. Those who say he had it easy are on drugs. It's not like he waltzed into the 8 golds. Not with 7 new world records. He had stiff competition which included himself.

afaik, mark spitz 7 of 7. 7 gold medals. 7 world records. and he said that if they have a 50m freestyle back then, he would have won it also.

Actually the measure of an athletes greatness is usually counted in the degree of his impact to the sport. In such a comparison the only big advantage Phleps have against Carl Lewis is his relative impact on the sport of swimming and how he electrified the US population to the sport. If you watched Fox news/ CNN everybody was glued to the TV because of him and everybody wanted to get into the water. Carl Lewis has none of that impact the way Phelps have. Tiger woods is another story but history will tell us his impact was not that all that big.

Well you said Phelps electrified the US population to swimming. However, you cannot equate that to the criteria "degree of impact to the sport" when talking about greatness. why? because the impact is only in the US. and afaik, the world is not only the US.

and relay events swimming are not really "team" sport. they don't pass on their suits and goggles, dont they? plus, as what some internet articles said, phelps owe one of his teammates (lezak if i am not mistaken) one of his gold medals. that teammate of his really was the one who rallied againts the french that classic relay event.

anyway, i don't mean to downgrade any of phelps' accomplishments. i'm just trying to put it in a proper context. in fact i think, he is a great swimmer, probably the greatest. but not the greatest olympian or athlete for that matter.

and to answer the main question: he should rest and think hard before committing to London 2012.

[cutedoc]

quit while your're on top, yes he could made history now, and he will strive for more but more will surface, and next time he might not be so lucky...

stay on top!

[cutedoc]

quit while your're on top, yes he could made history now, and he will strive for more but more will surface, and next time he might not be so lucky...

stay on top!

[Jun aka Pekto]

It's almost guaranteed someone will break Mike Phelps' records someday. In the meantime, if he can hack it, then he should keep competing until he feels he's done.

Should I just quit playing soccer because of my age? Most guys my age are either getting fat with beer bellies or have become couch potatoes and let themselves go.

Me, I can still mix it up with their kids and show em a thing or two.

Most people think sports is all about winning and setting the bar above others. But in reality, it's all about improving one's self.

[CVT]

It's almost guaranteed someone will break Mike Phelps' records someday. In the meantime, if he can hack it, then he should keep competing until he feels he's done.

Should I just quit playing soccer because of my age? Most guys my age are either getting fat with beer bellies or have become couch potatoes and let themselves go.

Me, I can still mix it up with their kids and show em a thing or two.

Most people think sports is all about winning and setting the bar above others. But in reality, it's all about improving one's self.

Agree with what you've written bro.

At 27, Phelps should still be a big wave in 2012. He could further increase his overall Olympic medal count and raise the bar to a new level. IMO, he should compete in the next Olympics....

6610:secret:

[empy]

afaik, mark spitz 7 of 7. 7 gold medals. 7 world records. and he said that if they have a 50m freestyle back then, he would have won it also.




Well you said Phelps electrified the US population to swimming. However, you cannot equate that to the criteria "degree of impact to the sport" when talking about greatness. why? because the impact is only in the US. and afaik, the world is not only the US.

and relay events swimming are not really "team" sport. they don't pass on their suits and goggles, dont they? plus, as what some internet articles said, phelps owe one of his teammates (lezak if i am not mistaken) one of his gold medals. that teammate of his really was the one who rallied againts the french that classic relay event.

anyway, i don't mean to downgrade any of phelps' accomplishments. i'm just trying to put it in a proper context. in fact i think, he is a great swimmer, probably the greatest. but not the greatest olympian or athlete for that matter.

and to answer the main question: he should rest and think hard before committing to London 2012.

see, the problem with any discussion about "greatest" is that there isnt a consistent definition of the word. is it most wins? is it margin of victory? is it dominance for a year, or sustained dominance? or is it impact on the sport?

two athletes that fit all those definitions and perhaps a few more are Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. maybe Michael Schumacher if you consider auto racing a sport. problem is, none of them really made their marks on the Olympics...besides a certain "Dream Team" appearance.

so, back to the Olympics. i don't think you can ever crown a single "greatest" without a lot of argument. but i think he does deserve to be mentioned at least in the top 5. i won't argue Carl Lewis (he comes closest to all the definitions above). impact? can anyone top Jesse Owens? could Phelps be in the top 3 with these two? arguably yes. and if he competes and does well in London, then yes without a doubt.