I like Lochte as much as the next guy, and I certainly respect him for being so competitive and determined even after being in Phelps' shadow for so many years. But, I'm not going to lie, if Lochte bests Phelps at the Olympic Games and people start making a big deal about how Lochte is the greatest swimmer ever, I'm going to be extremely irritated.
I believe Phelps has done more for the sport of swimming than any other swimmer in history. He brought swimming into the public eye more successfully than any other swimmer. But even more than that, the changes he's brought to the level of competition and training focus is incredible. Back when he was 16-18, he was simply an unheard of phenomenon. He got 5th place at the 2000 Olympics at age 15, and less than 6 months later
shattered the world record. When he was around 18, the gap between him and the rest of the competition was enormous: it was just world record after world record after world record. His butterfly technique became the golden standard, his habit of working final turns became the center of attention, and men's swimming as a whole got remarkably more competitive. To watch him continue to improve so much was incredible and unmatched, but to watch him
force the competition to close in on him was truly amazing. The high school swimming year following his 2008 performance in Beijing was the most amazing year of swimming I've ever experienced. The state meet was so, so, so competitive. You could
feel the excitement coming from his performance. Everyone was inspired.
Done rambling.
) gave him some motivation.
