Recently Michael Phelps swam his way to a record number of gold medals by one person at a single Olympics. In doing so, there are many people who are ready to crown him "The Greatest Olympian Ever." With all due respect to Mr. Phelps and his accomplishments in Beijing, the greatest feat by the greatest Olympian ever happened 72 years ago in Berlin.
Jesse Owens didn't travel by plane to the 1936 Olympics. He took a steamship, the USS Manhattan, to Germany, with other members of the United States delegation. Except unlike most of his American counterparts, he was relegated to third class with the few other African-American athletes on the team.
Upon arrival in Berlin, Owens actually faced less discrimination than he did back home in the United States. He was able to travel freely around the city, use public transportation, and visit local dining establishments as he pleased. The fact remained, however, that he was looked down upon by the media, government, and the citizens of the host country. The German media referred to Owens and other African-American athletes as "black auxiliaries," and criticized the United States for using them to win track and field events. Additionally, Adolph Hitler, the German Chancellor, had much of the German population convinced of Aryan superiority in all aspects, including athletics. The 1936 Olympics was the stage upon which he planned to prove that superiority.
Without considering the back story, Owens' actual athletic accomplishments in Berlin would still be just as impressive as Phelps' accomplishments in Beijing. Owens won four gold medals, setting three records. But when considering what Owens faced while achieving those feats, it puts him above and beyond Phelps and all others.
Some may argue that Phelps won eight gold medals and Owens "only" won four, and that's how the discussion should begin and end. But when looking at Phelps we must remember that he participates in a sport in which it is much easier to compete in multiple events at a very high level. Before Phelps came along, it wasn't completely unheard of for swimmers to compete in five or six events and win medals in all of them. A number of the different strokes and distances are similar enough to each other that it can be done. And there are also a number of relays in which a person who specializies in one or two strokes can also compete. A lot of the most decorated Olympic athletes of all-time are swimmers, and the sport has more Olympians with five or more all-time medals than any other, including sports normally contested in the Winter Games. What's clear is that the door has always been open for a swimmer to come along and dominate. Michael Phelps has simply stepped through that door. In doing so, Phelps, like Mark Spitz before him, has all but answered the question about who's the greatest swimmer
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