On Your Marks, Spitz

Phelps The Greatest Swimmer In History

You know the really strange thing about Michael Phelps? That he made his mark on history at a tennis venue. That's right, a tennis venue. You see, the pool for the 2007 FINA World Championships here in Melbourne is just a temporary, drop-in pool at Rod Laver Arena, better known as Centre Court at the Australian Open. I can safely say, as a former sportswriter and a onetime competitive swimmer, that I've never seen a performance as dominant as Phelps' destruction of his own world record in the 200m butterfly last night. Whether he wins eight gold medals here or not, this man will go down as the greatest swimmer in history. Now that's one big talent pool.