The Michael Phelps – Tiger Woods Comparison
Michael Phelps, winner of eight Gold Medals at the Beijing Games and the hottest sports story of the month, has been compared repeatedly to Tiger Woods in the past few days. Certainly there are similarities:
- Both have risen to unprecedented acheivement in their sports
- Both are unusally tough mentally
- Both adher to a regimented, seemingly crazy, work-out routine.
Still, one major difference–at least to me–appears. Phelps has yet to pass the test of sustained greatness as Tiger Woods has. But that’s just my opinion. Seemingly, everyone on the Web has an opinion on this issue. Below are just a few:
World Golf News Says No Way
Forbes Magazine Asks “Who’s a Better Athlete than Phleps?”
Bleacher Report – “Witnessing Greatness: Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps”
1 Comment
I think many tend to play down the achievement of Phelps because it has been in a sport which is not really considered a spectator sport. Also, the fact that you only get to hear a lot of brouhaha made about his achievement around the Olympics, once every four years, makes one think that what Michael Phelps has achieved does not amount to sustained achievement. But contrary to your line of thinking, I would like to believe, to maintain such a high standard of performance and supreme dominance even after a gap of four years at the greatest sporting stage is a phenomenal feat. After all we must not forget that he won 6 gold medals last time around in Athens.
In the same breath, I would like to add that Tiger still has not achieved all that there is to achieve. He is still a few majors short of Nicklaus’ feat and although it seems likely he will overtake the golden bear nothing is set in stone in sports.
If the Olympics were held last year, then everyone would have debated the greatness of Tiger, Phelps and Federer. This year no one is talking about Federer in the same breath as Phelps and Woods. A ‘few months’ is a long time in sports.
Personally, Phelps will be head and shoulders above any other athlete if he can bring in a few more medals at the London Olympics. Now that would be something!