Michael Phelps.... Deserving of the hype?

[kandrathe]

until Speedo makes transparent wetsuits with self-flapping arms.

Hmmm, transparent would be a big ratings booster. I would vote for bio-engineered micro flagella.

I think a comparison could be made to an Olympic gymnast, and if they won the team, all around, and each individual event. Or, winning most of the track and field events (probably more are possible than swimming even).

It would be interesting to list all the greatest Olympians and argue the pros and cons. Many of the greats had their success after a stint in the Olympics due to the professional rule. I think too, "The Olympics", are only one event in the world of sports these days. To be fair, you would need to evaluate other worldwide tournaments to determine the "best" athlete in the world.

You will probably never see the Olympic table tennis champion also winning trampoline, dressage and badminton. So number of medals is irrelevant to their dominance in their sport. Take women's softball, where the US team has never failed to win by a blow out. They are so successful, the sport was petitioned to be taken out of the next Olympics.