Whether you’re a fan of the Olympics or not it’s hard to deny the magnitude of American swimmer Michael Phelps’s achievement – winning a record 11 gold medals during his career (and still going for three more at the current games).
To put that in perspective, there are 163 countries which, individually, have won fewer golds over the modern Olympics’ entire 110 year history. There are some surprisingly big names on this list. None of India, Ireland, Jamaica or Mexico has managed to accumulate as many golds over the years as Phelps has in Athens and Beijing.
If Phelps was a country, he’d be fifth in the Beijing medal table having won five golds — comfortably ahead of Team GB which has only won two so far.
Let’s salute a great Olympian
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