Is U.S. Swimmer Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian ever in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China?

Dominance. Yeah, Phelps is now the poster boy for that exactly.

Sensational American swimmer Michael Phelps did the impossible, winning eight gold medals, seven of them world records, in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The United States is lucky to have this guy playing for them. The question now is, is he the greatest American Olympian ever?

The answer is a resounding yes. Michael Phelps has beaten the 36-year-old record set by fellow American Mark Spitz, whose seven swimming gold medals at Munich in 1972 were the most at a single Games. That's until Phelps came up with eight this year.

His remarkable feat is considered to be one of the greatest accomplishments in Olympics history. The 23-year-old cemented his name to Olympic greatness as he won all of the gold medals in all of the events in swimming so far.

Michael Phelps now has 14 gold and 2 bronze medals in his Olympic career. He won six of the his gold, including a couple of bronze medals, in Athens 4 years ago. The rest he won this year, in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

One reporter agrees that Michael Phelps is indeed the best Olympian ever, saying that Phelps has a wide variety of skills to be considered as the Willie Mays of swimming. He also added that Phelps swims for distance, for sprints, for relays, in free, in butterfly.

He is the ultimate five-tool athlete.

''I really wanted to do something that no one's ever done before in this sport,'' Michael Phelps said. Nobody anticipated that the American swimmer will be THIS serious about it.

''The term 'Spitzian feat' may be outdated,'' American teammate Aaron Peirsol said, referring to the Olympic record Mark Spitz set in swimming. ''It may now be 'Phelpsian feat.''''

''When someone says you can't do something, it shows that anything is possible,'' Phelps adds. ''When you put your mind to a certain thing, it can happen. The biggest thing is nothing is impossible. All it takes is an imagination.''

A better way to close that statement is an Adidas logo. Unfortunately, we still haven't received any sponsorship deals from them. Hee hee...

Who will be the winners of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.

Most Overall Medals

China 1.80

United States 2.10

Russia 15.00

Want more odds? Visit Bodog sportsbook for more Olympic Games betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.

2008 Beijing Olympic Games Michael Phelps