Spitz and Phelps are rarities. Spitz' medal count lasted 36 years. And he only swam two strokes, Phelps does all four.
Phelps didn't swim any long distance stuff, the longest was the 400m individual medley. And he didn't do any 50m stuff either. So he had his range, just like the track guys do.
200m freestyle,
100m butterfly,
200m butterfly,
200m individual medley,
400m individual medley,
4x100m freestyle relay,
4x200m freestyle relay,
4x200m medley relay
But track guys could, if they wanted, run the 100, 200, and 400 (are those redundant?), and add some hurdles and relays, and maybe get up to 8 medals. But as you point out, most track guys can only dominate 1 or 2 events, which is why Phelps is so unique. |
