Why wouldn't you put him above those athletes?
For those athletes times they were great without a doubt in my mind. But here is my view: With Sport and science and training these days athletes are able to do much greater feats. I mean every year that goes by these athletes get more and more faster and stronger and amazing just by training and understanding the human body more through science. For example when Michael Johnson or Carl Lewis or Michael Green would run, crap they were fast and after seeing Bolt run and set the world record and make it look like he could turn around an beat his time because he shut down his engine before the race was finished. Yes natural atleticism is one thing but training is another you take a gifted runner/swimmer and then train him like in chariots of fire well then you have a super specimen of an athlete i.e. Michael Phelps. If Jim Thorpe or any of the others had Phelps' training well maybe Phelps woulda never beat Spitz. The truth is Phelps swims more strokes than Spitz could and broke the all time record and will be back to add to his medal total in London. Phelps is at the top of the food chain as far as athletes go and not one of the ones mentioned above have as many gold in one olympics as Phelps has and for that he must be ranked higher?
First of all, Carl Lewis wasn't JUST a runner, he had gold in the long jump as well. Bruce Jenner set the world record in the Decathalon, which, athletically can be argued as the hardest medal to achieve. Thorpe medaled in the Decathalon AND Pentathalon. Karelin is only considered the greatest wrestler, EVER, and had gold in three olympics and a silver in the fourth. Stevenson medaled is THREE olympics as well, and absolutely dominated the heavyweight division. Also, there is only one event for boxers and wrestlers, so you can't compare medal totals.
Is Phelps great, even the greatest swimmer ever. In my mind, yes, but he's on the same list as the olympians I listed.
Now, olympians versus everyday athletes like baseball, football and basketball players, well that's another argument.
