mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
Last night, Michael Phelps won his third gold medal of the Beijing Games—his ninth career Olympic gold. Phelps swims the 200m Butterfly tonight, and chances are good that he’ll become the first member of the double-digit gold club—he’s posted the five fastest times in the event’s history. In case you’re wondering with whom Phelps is (momentarily) tied, here’s a look at the all-time Summer Olympic standings, courtesy of olympics.org:
9 Gold Medals Won
• Carl Lewis (USA), track & field, 1984-1996
• Paavo Nurmi (Finland), track & field, 1920-1928
• Mark Spitz (USA), swimming, 1968-1972
• Larisa Latynina (USSR), gymnastics, 1956-1964
8 Gold Medals Won
• Matt Biondi (USA), swimming, 1984-1992
• Ray Ewry (USA), track & field, 1900-1908
• Sawao Kato (Japan), gymnastics, 1968-1976
• Birgit Fischer-Schmidt (Germany), kayaking, 1980-2004
7 Gold Medals Won
• Viktor Ivanovich Chukarin (USSR), gymnastics, 1952-1956
• Nikolay Andrianov (USSR), gymnastics, 1972-1980
• Aladar Gerevich (Hungary), fencing, 1932-1960
• Reiner Klimke (Germany), equestrian, 1960-1988
• Boris Shakhlin (USSR), gymnastics, 1956-1964
• Vera Caslavska (Czechoslovakia), gymnastics, 1960-1968
• Jenny Thompson (USA), swimming, 1992-2004
Other things we learned last night: Michael Phelps is eating 8,000 to 10,000 calories per day, and Mark Spitz seems really bitter about things.
Welcome Back Jason
I found a little bug in the system. I wanted to send yu an email…clicked on your name under this post, got a page with all of your recent postes and a message with the word email in blue. I clicked on that and got a page for Blackberry. Anywho, here’s my question. I entered the 100 Bucks contest and I really thought I had everything correct. I have a copy of the magazine…and I haven’t heard anything more about it. Did someone win it yet?
posted by Jo-Ann Burton on 8-12-2008 at 10:27 am
I remember watching Mark Spitz win his gold medals. At the time I thought he seemed like a great person as well as a great athlete.
Then I heard him in interviews and saw his ATTEMPTS at acting. He comes across as a self-centered, spoiled, whiny brat. And his latest rant just adds to that opinion.
posted by Sheldon Siegel on 8-12-2008 at 11:05 am
I don’t get why they are calling Phelps the “greatest Olympian of all time” just because he has gotten a lot of medals. Granted, it is quite amazing and all, but there are a lot of amazing athletes like those in team sports (i.e. beach volleyball, etc) that only have the opportunity at one medal per games due to the sport they compete in. What about them? If I were one of the other athletes, I think I would be offended. It makes me mad every time I hear it. Am I the only one who feels this way?
posted by confused on 8-12-2008 at 2:18 pm
Wow, Mark Spitz sounds like a complete jerk. Now I can’t wait for Michael Phelps to destroy his records.
posted by Allison on 8-12-2008 at 2:22 pm
I don’t think Mark Spitz is being a jerk, after all he WANTS Phelps to break his record. He just feels he ought to be the one to “pass the torch”. After all the NHL had Gordie Howe at all Wayne Gretzky’s games when he was on the verge of breaking Howe’s record.
posted by kani on 8-12-2008 at 2:37 pm
@ confused:
Granted, many athletes work hard and “only” have one event, but that makes him more memorable. He has qualified for EIGHT events. He has owned many of these as World Records as well.
Does that help you understand the talk about him.
Phelps just amazes me every time.
posted by bucsfan on 8-12-2008 at 2:50 pm
If it was sooooooooooo important for Mark Spitz to get to Beijing to watch the very tasty Michael Phelps bust up his records, then he should have figured out how to get there hisownself instead of waiting for someone to ‘invite’ him and then bitching when nobody did.
Know WHY? Because NOBODY CARES ABOUT MARK SPITZ except Mark Spitz.
posted by Rachel on 8-12-2008 at 6:11 pm
I think it should be noted that Mark Spitz did it all with mustache drag.
posted by Pete on 8-12-2008 at 6:53 pm