The most decorated American Olympian ever, Michael Phelps, won another two gold medals last night at the 2016 Rio Summer Games. He now has 21 golds and 25 medals overall. With his win in the 200m butterfly (an event which he lost four years ago), Phelps now ties the late, great Leonidas of Rhodes with 12 individual wins.
Bill Mallon, an Olympic historian, conducted the research to shed light on this incredible feat. According to Deadspin, Leonidas of Rhodes was one of the best sprinters to ever live, and whose Olympic records were first compiled by Hippias of Elas being updated and revised by later scholars.
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Leonidas first completed the “triple,” at the 154th Olympic, held in 164 BCE. The “triple” includes the stadion sprint, the diaulos, and the hoplitodromos. The stadion is a sprint of about 200 meters, and the diaulos is twice the length of the stadion. The hoplitodromos is the running distance of the diaulos while wearing a helmet, greaves, and carrying a shield. The armor weighed more than 50 pounds in total.
The incredible athlete then went on to win the triple in then next three Olympic Games in 160 BCE, 156 BCE, and 152 BCE. Deadspin reports that Pausanias tells us, Leonidas, “the most famous runner…maintained his speed at its prime for four Olympiads, and won twelve victories for running.”
The Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement confirmed that Leonidas’ 12 wins were in fact an Olympic record in both ancient and modern times. Now 2,168 years later, Michael Phelps is tied with Leonidas, and still has two more chances to surpass him with the 200m individual medley on Thursday, and the 100m butterfly on Friday.
While Phelps does not have to wear 50-pound armor while competing, both men will go down as two of the best athletes of all time.
Congratulations to Michael Phelps, and we wish him the best of luck for the rest of the Rio Olympics.
