by Ted Sherman

Created on: December 25, 2008   Last Updated: January 13, 2009

If the category of best 2008 athlete were strictly limited to amateurs, the title would certainly go to swimmer Michael Phelps, who took home eight gold medals in the year's Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Those added to the six gold and two bronze he won in the 2004 games in Athens, Greece, make him one of the most successful amateur athletes in history. I have nothing against professionals, and just as much repect for their talents. However, there's an element of pure achievement to the amateur who is motivated only by determination to succeed against all odds.

Among many other honors, Phelps was named 2008 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated and posed wearing his Olympic gold medals on its cover. The magazine, which usually gives its annual award to professional athletes, chose Phelps this year, making him the first Olympian to win the award in 14 years, and the first swimmer ever to earn that achievement.

Phelps, of Baltimore, Maryland, performing magnificently in the 2008 Olympics, surpassed the previous big gold medal winner, Mark Spitz, who won seven golds at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. In the process, in this year's Games, Phelps also established seven new world records and exceeded eight Olympic records.

Phelps, now age 23, is much more than a statistic on the Olympics books and current hot catch for all kinds of TV interviews. People are beginning to realize what a wonder he is, and he'll be cashing in on his Olympic winnings, with ad appearances and sponsorships by AT&T, Visa, Speedo swimsuits and other companies.

To understand how Phelps differs from mere mortals, there are his physical statistics, with a body that seems to have been designed by nature to make him an unbeatable superhuman swimmer. When practicing and competing, he eats 10,000 calories a day, nearly four times the amount consumed by a normal male of his age. He burns them all off as he churns through the water in daily hours of practice.

He's six feet eight inches tall, with long arms that resemble a pair of big front flippers that stretch to six feet seven inches of waterborne windmills. He wears size 14 shoes, and his fin-like feet and joints in his body are so flexible, he's often compared to a four-flippered dolphin with his easy stroke system.

Not many people would dispute the fact that Michael Phelps may be the best swimmer of all time, and probably one of the greatest athletes. One question that is sure to be asked many times in coming months: will he compete again in 2012 at the Summer Olympic Games in London, England? He'll be 27 years old, still a young man, but ancient in a sport where most swimmers burn out by age 21. Phelps believes he will be fit and ready, and despite his heavy public appearance schedule, he still swims at least five hours a day.

Chances are we'll not only see Michael Phelps competing in the 2012 Olympics, but we can also expect to cheer him as he mounts the winner's stand to accept yet another string of gold medals.

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