I'll be honest and I'm no Chad Johnson but Phelps is incredible BUT......he is just a swimmer. To me an athlete is someone who can run, jump, swim, accelerate, take a hit/injury, throw, catch, strength, endurance. Phelps is an awsome swimmer the best ever I would say. He is not the best athlete ever...in fact nowhere close. Think of the millions who have never swam...or who swam at a young age and gave it up. He has perfected a skill that many havent tried or have given up at an early age.
Dont get me wrong I don't want to take anything away from Phelps who has dedicted his life to becomeing the best swimmer ever. But just for comparisons sake lets look at a scenario.
If we took the world population or even just the US population and said the whole US population is going to train to be a swimmer. Would Phelps still be the best? If everyone HAD to try and be a ridiculous swimmer. My guess is no. However I dont think Chad Johnson would be in the top 500.
In contrast what if the US population had to train to be a Michael Jordan, LT, or Kobe Bryant. Would they still be the best? My guess is YES Jordan, LT, and Kobe would still be the best.
In summary Phelps is amazing but I dont rank him among the best athletes ever. I rank him as one of the best olympians ever.