Chairman of the London Olympics says Michael Phelps is Not the Greatest Olympian

Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Olympics 2012, is not in agreement with the belief that Michael Phelps has become the greatest Olympian of all time. “You can probably say that clearly, self-evidently, in medal tally he's the most successful,” Coe commented to the media on Wednesday, following Phelps' record breaking performance for most medals won in the history of the Olympic Games. “My personal view is I am not sure he is the greatest, but he is certainly the most successful. That goes without saying.” Lord Coe was the recipient of gold and silver medals during the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. “This is the global pub game,” Coe said. “Who is the greatest Olympian of all time? I could go around this whole room, we'd all come up with different interpretations on that. But you have to say he's up there. But whether he is the greatest, in my opinion, probably not.” Coe did give the names of worthy Olympians that could be considered the world's greatest such as gold-medalist rower Steve Redgrave, two-time decathlon champ Daley Thompson, first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 Nadia Comacei and Jesse Owens. A vast majority of the media, athletes and the public have no doubt that Phelps has built himself a reputation as the greatest Olympian.