Who Is the Greater Olympian: Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt?

Volume against perfection. Michael Phelps owns 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold, both all-time records, across five Olympics and a record 13 individual golds. Usain Bolt owns 8 Olympic golds, a perfect record in Olympic individual finals, and the 100m and 200m world marks that have stood since 2009. We grade both across seven equally weighted lenses: Olympic success, peak dominance, winning efficiency, historical separation, longevity, difficulty of achievement, and legacy. The final margin is half a point, and it is nothing like 28 to 8. Sources below. 🔔 Subscribe — a new breakdown every day. 📊 SOURCES Olympics.com / IOC — medals, results, records World Aquatics — Phelps swimming records World Athletics — Bolt world & Olympic records Olympedia & Sports Reference — career results StatMuse & ESPN — cross-checks Giphy.com (highlight clips) TAGS michael phelps, usain bolt, phelps vs bolt, greatest olympian, olympics, olympic analytics, phelps medals, usain bolt world record, beijing 2008, swimming, track and field, greatest olympian ever