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Paavo Nurmi may be the greatest Olympian of all time, but not on the basis of your critique of swimming's numerous events. Nurmi amassed his medal total precisely by running a variety of distances, i.e. in many different events. Like Phelps, he was impressively versatile. I think the two are more similar than you do.

Of course it's little more than idle bar chatter (and there's nothing wrong with that!) to argue who's the greatest this or that of all time. Babe Ruth vs. Hank Aaron vs. Barry Bonds? George Mikan vs. Shaq? But it's tough even to compare Phelps to 1972's Mark Spitz. Spitz swam with a mustache and without cap and full-body suit, and unlike Phelps, he wasn't allowed to make a living in swimming between Olympics. If he had, he might have returned in 1976 as Phelps has returned in 2008.

Finally, someone willing to engage in a serious debate. Thanks, Andy.

I agree Nurmi competed in an array of events, and over three Olympics rather than two. He even ran, but didn't win gold, in a steeplechase. I admit that's an event, like the hurdles, that swimming can't match. Even Phelps might have difficulty leaping from the water over a barrier, although if any human could ...

Good point about the difference that professional opportunities offer. Top athletes in amny Olympic sports, though not all, pursue true professional careers these days. It allows them to compete longer. Maybe Phelps will continue through the 2012 Games and end up with 20 gold medals.

While Nurmi was an all-time great, I have to admit in fairness that he competed before the African distance runners appeared on the world stage. The Finns have long since been eclipsed by the Kenyans, Ethiopians and others.

The athlete I consider the greatest Olympian ever competed in only one Games and won four gold medals. He stands out because of the circumstances. Of course, I'm referring to Jesse Owens in Berlin 1936, when his magnificent performances in the face of Hitler's doctrine of racial superiority deserve to be honored forever.

At root, a debate like this (and in fact sports in general) is more about emotion and memory and subjective values than anything else. How can one not appreciate what Jesse Owens did in 1936, especially in the context of Nazism?

And so while Michael Phelps is amazing and probably the best swimmer ever, I'll always have a special place in my heart for Mark Spitz, a Jewish guy who was a superstar when I was active in age-group swimming. The 1972 Olympic swimming trials were held in Chicago, near my home town, and my friends and I talked our parents into driving us in to the city every day, where we saw Spitz do amazing things. Then he went to Munich and not only won gold in every event, he set world records in every event. Now Phelps has a chance to win eight golds, and he's set a world record in winning each of his five golds so far. If he sets records in all eight, it'll sure be hard to put Spitz ahead of him in the swimming pantheon. And so I won't try.

Speaking of cross-generation comparisons, read this.

In swimming, it's not just technology but also rule changes that have had an impact on times (and hence on making comparisons tough). Eons ago when I swam, backstrokers had to touch the wall with their hand at the beginning of the flip turn. When one of the flip turns developed under that rule was deemed to be too hard to judge, the rule was changed to allow backstrokers to turn on their stomaches prior to the flip turn. Well, that's a much faster turn. The rule change was in 1991, and a lot of backstroke records fell in 1992 and '93. And that's just one example of a technique that's allowed now but would have earned a quick disqualification in the primordial past.

While it is an interesting media lead debate, "who is the best Olympian ever", there really can not be an answer. Individual sports are so different. Is Michael the best in swimmer ever, may be but there are others that blazed the trail including Tracy Caulkins, Janet Evans, Mark Spitz, Jim Montgomery, Mike Borrowman, and the list goes on. Michael is lucky to have Jason Lezack as his anchor swimmer, because he was the star of the US success in relays. Some of their records lasted decades. History will tell. But there are those that have stories beyond that of Michael's in all the sports. Overcoming adversity should be the standard and there are plenty of athletes that exceed Michaels' obstacles. He is a model and applause should go for years, but there is immense talent, aspiration and drive among our youth, the only parts missing are the venue, the coach and the opportunity.