Though most people have heard of the exploits of Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, I think it bears a further look into his greatness.
To finish with Michael Phelps, you have to start with Mark Spitz, the man by which Phelps was measured against in these Olympics. In the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, which were marred by the killing of 11 athletes from Israel, Spitz set a goal of winning six gold medals. By the end of competition, Spitz had not only won seven gold medals, he had also set seven world records.
His events, times, and margins of victory:
- 100m Freestyle: 0:51.22 (-0.43)
- 200m Freestyle: 1:52.78 (-0.95)
- 100m Butterfly: 0:54.27 (-1.29)
- 200m Butterfly: 2:00.70 (-2.16)
- 4x100m Freestyle Relay: 3:26.42 (-3.30)
- 4x200m Freestyle Relay: 7:35.78 (-5.91)
- 4x100m Medley Relay [Butterfly]: 3:48.16 (-3.96)
Clearly, Spitz and his teammates dominated the competition. With his two gold, one silver, and one bronze in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, Spitz pushed his total to nine gold, one silver, and one bronze.
No matter what pressure was on Phelps before the Beijing Olympics, the standard had been set high by Spitz and his teammates. Seven gold medals and seven world records seemed unreachable by most every expert who weighed in on the debate prior to the start of the Games.
By the time he finished the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps completed his quest for eight gold medals and pushed his career medals to 14 gold and two bronze. With 16 total medals, Phelps ranks 2nd behind Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina (18) in total Olympic medals. His 14 total gold medals is the most by any Olympian.
His events, times, and margins of victory:
- 200m Freestyle: 1:42.96 (-1.89)
- 100m Butterfly: 0:50.58 (-0.01)
- 200m Butterfly: 1:52.03 (-0.67)
- 200m Individual Medley Relay: 1:54.23 (-2.29)
- 400m Individual Medley Relay: 4:03.84 (-2.32)
- 4x100m Freestyle Relay: 3:08.24 (-0.08)
- 4x200m Freestyle Relay: 6:58.56 (-5.14)
- 4x100m Medley Relay [Butterfly]: 3:29.34 (-0.70)
Now for the comparisons.
First, let’s look at the average margin of victory for the individual events per 100m. It’s not fair to simply compare average margins of victory because of the different distances of the events.
Mark Spitz (4 events): 0.201s
Michael Phelps (5 events): 0.131s
The advantage seems to go to Spitz, but it could be easily argued that the competition is tougher now than it was in 1972. Several experts make this case in several sports, most notably Bill James in baseball, given the better training methods, workout programs, etc. Of course, Phelps also has better swimsuits and pools, so I think Spitz still gets the edge in this department. But just slightly.
Next, we can look at the average margin of victory in the team events and it’s quite clear that Spitz and his teammates dominated the competition much more than Phelps and his teammates. There’s really no need for further comparison.
And now we get to the interesting comparisons.
Spitz and Phelps shared six events in their record-setting performances. Clearly, since he set seven world records and one Olympic record, Phelps was faster than Spitz in all of these events. The question is exactly how much faster Phelps was. Instead of just showing a direct time comparison, I think this comparison is best shown by making Spitz one of Phelps’ competitors and seeing what place Spitz would have come in with his 1972 times inserted into the 2008 events.
200m Freestyle
Mark Spitz: 1:52.78
Michael Phelps: 1:42.96
Mark Spitz Place: 9th place (out of 9 racers)
Spitz would have finished 5.31 seconds behind last place finisher Robbie Renwick. Renwick finished 4.51 seconds behind Phelps. In other words, Spitz would have finished more than twice as far back as the actual last place finisher.
100m Butterfly
Mark Spitz: 0:54.27
Michael Phelps: 0:50.58
Mark Spitz Place: 9th place (out of 9 racers)
Spitz would have finished 2.41 seconds behind last place finisher Ryan Pini. Pini finished 1.28 seconds behind Phelps. In this instance, Spitz would have finished almost three times as far back as the actual last place finisher.
200m Butterfly
Mark Spitz: 2:00.70
Michael Phelps: 1:52.03
Mark Spitz Place: 9th place (out of 9 racers)
Spitz would have finished 5.56 seconds behind last place finisher Nikolay Skvortsov. Skvortsov finished 3.11 seconds behind Phelps. Again, Spitz would have finished more than twice as far back as the actual last place finisher.
4x100m Freestyle Relay
Mark Spitz (and teammates): 3:26.42
Michael Phelps (and teammates): 3:08.24
Mark Spitz (and teammates) Place: 9th place (out of 9 racers)
Spitz and his teammates would have finished 13.55 seconds behind last place finisher Great Britain. Great Britain finished 4.63 seconds behind Phelps and his teammates. In this case, Spitz and his teammates would have finished almost four times as far back as the actual last place finisher.
4x200m Freestyle Relay
Mark Spitz (and teammates): 7:35.78
Michael Phelps (and teammates): 6:58.56
Mark Spitz (and teammates) Place: 9th place (out of 9 racers)
Spitz and his teammates would have finished 22.76 seconds behind last place finisher South Africa. South Africa finished 14.06 seconds behind Phelps and his teammates. Spitz and his teammates would have finished over two-and-a-half times as far back as the actual last place finisher.
4x100m Medley Relay [Butterfly]
Mark Spitz (and teammates): 3:48.16
Michael Phelps (and teammates): 3:29.34
Mark Spitz (and teammates) Place: 9th place (out of 9 racers)
Spitz and his teammates would have finished 35.29 seconds behind last place finisher Great Britain. Great Britain finished 4.63 seconds behind Phelps and his teammates. Spitz and his teammates would have finished almost nine times as far back as the actual last place finisher.
It’s clear the sport of Swimming, much like many other sports, has come a long way since 1972 and it’s clear that Spitz and his teammates, using 1972 training methods, likely wouldn’t have even made it to the Olympics, much less the Finals of the Olympics.
But, as I said before, times have changed and Swimming is not the sport that it was in 1972. The oldest world record on the books at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was Janet Evans’ 800m Freestyle record of 8:16.22. That record was broken during the Beijing Olympics by Great Britain’s Rebecca Adlington by 2.12 seconds. The record, set in August 1989, had lasted 19 years and survived four Olympics before Adlington’s performance.
So, not only is Swimming not what it was in 1972, it’s not even what it was just half as far back in 1989.
Still, credit has to be given to Phelps and his teammates for what they accomplished. In a time when the competition is sometimes just a fingernail behind you — as was the case in the 100m Butterfly — Phelps and his teammates dominated.
And now the final comparison; where Spitz and Phelps differed.
Spitz and Phelps are clearly both 100-200m performers. The six events they shared showed this. However, while Phelps didn’t go after the 100m Freestyle gold like Spitz did, what he did go after may have set him apart from Spitz.
The individual medley relay is a tough race by any measure. Not only does it require the competitors to swim each of the four strokes — Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle in that order — it also requires specific technique for the transition between strokes. Just imagine the transition from backstroke (lying on your back, leading with your hands) to breaststroke (back up, leading with your hands) and you get a sense of the difficulty.
Phelps not only raced the 200m Individual Medley Relay, which requires 50m, or one length of the pool, with each stroke, he also raced the 400m Individual Medley Relay, which requires 100m with each stroke. In both instances he won by over two seconds and dominated the field.
While it can seem a minor thing, Phelps swimming the two individual medley relays is what truly sets him apart from Spitz. While Spitz was able to concentrate on the butterfly and freestyle strokes, Phelps had to also work on the breaststroke and backstroke. And in the midst of other specialists who added in the missing strokes to complete the individual medley relay, Phelps proved he is a truly dominate all-around swimmer.
To take absolutely nothing away from Spitz, who is legendary in his own right, Phelps is the one who will possibly be remembered as the greatest swimmer ever.
With Dara Torres winning a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics at age 41 and Michael Phelps being just 23 years old, it may be many more Olympics before the history books close on the living legend that is Michael Phelps.
