Phelps and Spitz, Driven and Different
"With every triumphant performance in Beijing this week, Michael Phelps plants footprints on the pool deck ever closer to those left years ago by Mark Spitz.
"Phelps’s dominating performance so far — five gold medals in five swimming events, with three more races to go — is the most compelling Olympic performance since the Munich Games in 1972, when Spitz set seven world records and won seven gold medals in seven events.
"And although Spitz and Phelps have much in common athletically, they are far different people. Phelps is sociable, just one of the guys, and other swimmers like him. Spitz was considered by many Olympic teammates to be detached, remote and given to mind games.
"He first competed in the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968. When reporters asked him if he would win six gold medals, he left no doubt he would. Instead, he won only two golds, both in relays. His individual events produced one silver medal and one bronze. It would have been a bonanza for anyone else, but teammates snickered. Spitz called it 'the worst meet of my life.'"
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