I'd have to agree that Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian ever. He swam against the best swimmers in the world, and went 8 for 8 against them in this olympics. Plus he has the overall record for most Gold medals, so I mean who else can top that? Also, he did it all without performance enhancing drugs and he showed a lot of class. Phelps, in my opinion, is the greatest athlete of the modern Olympic era.