The Olympic Games are the holy grail for all athletes. It offers them a chance to achieve glory that is unparalleled in the world. Ever since the inception of the games in Greece in the eponymous city of Olympia, the athletes have found a remarkable purpose in their lives. That tradition of competitiveness and subsequent canonization has been carried down to the present generation, where Michael Phelps holds an elusive mark.

With 28 Olympic medals decking his trophy cabinet, he is one of the most decorated Olympians in the history of swimming. Now, his influence spans not just decades but centuries as the Swimming G.O.A.T has shattered a 2000-year-old record from a legendary Greek hero.

Michael Phelps broke Leonidas of Rhodes? record

Long before Usain Bolt settled his supremacy over the sprinting world as the fastest man alive, Leonidas of Rhodes held that honor. As the three-time sprinting champion of his time, the Greek hero was hailed with the title ?Triastes? or tripler. He was part of the last golden age of the ancient games spanning from 164 to 152 BC. Although there were no digital clocks to record his speed, historian Philostratus mentioned his winning streak in his book Gymnastikos. He held twelve wins to his name, and none had been able to surpass his mark till Michael Phelps came into the picture. Mrs. Nicole Phelps posted a stats list yesterday on her Instagram story and proclaimed her husband?s dominance proudly. She captioned the post, ?Look at this stat?He beat Leonidas?my brain won?t even do the math to figure out how long ago that record was held?.

Much like her, everyone else?s mind was blown by the fact that Michael Phelps was able to overwrite a 2000-year-old record. Leonidas of Rhodes competed in four consecutive Olympiads and won the stade race, the diaulos race and the armour race each time. This brought him 12 Olympic victory wreaths which are equivalent to the gold medals of today. These brought him immense fame and immortalized his name in history. Michael Phelps desired his name to also gleam through the pages of history books in the following centuries and made sure of it in 2016.

Michael Phelps chased Leonidas? record in 2016

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, while his rivals were chasing Michael Phelps in the 200-meter individual medley, the swimming ace was powering through with a loftier goal. He had Leonidas of Rhodes? record in his sights, and nothing could stop him from rewriting that mark. He was very close to that record and needed one more individual title to secure his place in history. When Michael Phelps touched the wall for the win, his heart was pounding with the knowledge of his unbelievable triumph.

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With that victory, Michael Phelps also became the only American besides track and field legends Al Oerter and Carl Lewis to win an individual event four times. He posted 1:54:66 seconds for the win, which became his second-best time. After the victory, the elated star said, ?I don?t know what to say. It?s been a hell of a career?. Even years after retirement, the Flying Fish is able to cast a long shadow that continues to inspire swimmers with his god-like abilities.

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