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Michael Phelps is, arguably, the greatest swimmer of all time. The American is the most decorated Olympian ever, winning an astounding 28 Olympic medals. 23 of those are gold, which in itself would still be enough to top the next Olympian on the list, Larisa Latynina, who has a total of 18.
Despite that, Phelps was never unbeatable. He was the best, but when one is competing with the rest of the world's best, there are going to be losses. There are even going to be close, narrow wins.
So, let's revisit some of the races where Phelps had to face a very tough challenge. Here are Michael Phelps' 5 best races of all time.
#5. 2000 Sydney Olympic trials, 200 meter butterfly
There was a time when the American swimmer was a very young athlete trying to make his way. In 2000, before he won any gold medals, he was just trying to qualify for Sydney Olympics of that year.
He ended up coming second in a men's 200m butterfly qualifying race. This was enough to book his ticket for Sydney.
It's impressive because Michael Phelps became the youngest American Olympian, in 68 years, at just 15 years of age. Not many 15 year old athletes are even remotely close to the Oympics.
He didn't medal in those first Olympics, but just reaching the biggest stage in sports was a huge achievement for such a young swimmer.
#4. 2008 Beijing Olympics, 400 meter individual medley
The 400 meter individual medley is a challenging race. Phelps is known for the butterfly, but needed an all-round performance in this event to win the gold, at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Phelps started off well, which was important. It's tough to come back in such a long race that requires so much energy, but the swimmer got off to a great start.
His coach Bob Bowman had this to say:
“We thought that time was reasonable. It was very important to get off to a good start. We always knew when his first event was good, the rest were going to be good. That got the ball rolling.”
He went on to set a world record, showing his versatility. The swimmer finished the event with a timing of 4:03.84.
That would end up being part of Phelps' eight golds at the Beijing Olympics - the most in history by an athlete at one edition of the Olympics.
#3. 2008 Beijing Olympics, 200 meter butterfly final
Michael Phelps has set many records throughout his career. Ultimately, each one is incredible and deserving of praise despite the routine nature of it in his career. In the 200 meter butterfly final at the 2008 Beijing Olymics, the swimmer set a world record but looked incredibly frustrated.
As it turned out, the goggles he wore got filled with water immediately, which impaired his vision. A world record is impressive. A world record with impaired vision is mind-boggling. That's just how good he really was.
#2. 2009 World Championships, 100 meter butterfly
Milorad Cavic was one of Michael Phelps' biggest competitors for a long time and they had some epic duels over the course of their careers. This race from the 2009 World Championships was one of the best the swimmer has ever competed in.
Before the race, one commentator said:
"This will be the race of the year."
Little did they know! The American set the world record in an absolutely stunning comeback win over Cavic. Cavic got off to an incredible start but Phelps would not be denied, taking the victory by setting a new world record and edging out Cavic.
#1. 2008 Beijing Olympics, 100 meter butterfly final
There have been tons of races in Michael Phelps' storied career. There have also been tons of gold medals, 23 to be exact. At some point, they have to start feeling the same. A gold medal win is awesome, but it's not more enjoyable than the last gold medal win.
However, it could be argued that no gold medal is more impressive than a particular one that the swimmer won in Beijing. It was the 100 meter butterfly gold in the Beijing Olympics and it's possibly his best performance of all time.
Phelps got off to a very poor start in the 100 meter butterfly final, but was able to pull it together and drag himself back into contention. That alone is impressive, but he was able to grab one of the narrowest victories in Olympics history.
The final tally saw the American touch the wall 0.01 seconds before his opponent, for his seventh gold of that Olympics. Given the competition - Cavic was one of the world's best at the time - this may be one of the most impressive races of all time.
