“Michael Phelps single-handedly saved the Olympics,” said Pat Forde at ESPN.com. Before the Beijing Games started, the prevailing sentiment was that doping and politics had dampened the Olympic spirit. But Phelps awed the world by swimming to a record eight gold medals, and his humility made him “everyone’s Olympic ideal.”
Phelps did even more for his sport, said Dave Marcus in Newsday. Swimming is one of those pursuits that disappear from view for four years after Olympic fever subsides. But now that swimmers have their own superstar to match Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, competitive swimming is the hottest sport around.
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