Michael Phelps: King of the pool and a true Olympic great

If Michael Phelps was a country he would be 39th on the all time Olympic gold medal table.

Just think about that for a moment. It means his gold medal haul, which now stands at 21, puts him higher than Argentina, Austria and even Jamaica.

On the fourth night of finals at the Rio Games Phelps won his 20th Olympic gold - and 12th individual title - with a dominant victory in what’s become his signature event, the 200 metres butterfly, before anchoring the United States to gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

After his exertions he took a moment to himself and sat on the block at the end of the lane. “Doing a double like that is a lot harder now than it once was,” he said.

It brought his overall medal tally to 25, making him the most decorated Olympian in history. And there may be more to come as Phelps has three more medal opportunities in the 100m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay and 200m individual medley, which began last night.

But that will be it. Once this week is over the book will be closed on Phelps’s Olympic story, the swimmer having already said that this will be his swansong. True, he retired once before - following the London 2012 Olympics - only to return 18 months later, but that was because he felt he had unfinished business.

He went into the London Games as the 2004 and 2008 Olympic champion only to be beaten by South African Chad le Clos (whose emotional father Bert became one of the inadvertent stars of the Games).

It proved that Phelps was human after all, but it also left the American with a point to prove to himself. He’s done that now and the superstar who burst on to the scene as a 15-year-old at the Sydney Games in 2000 leaves behind a record that’s unlikely ever to be equalled, never mind surpassed.

You have to feel a pang of sympathy for those hugely talented swimmers who had the misfortune to hit their peak at the same time as Phelps. But equally you have to marvel at his unparalleled speed in the water.

Anyone who’s won an Olympic gold medal will tell you how difficult it is and the countless hours of hard work and dedication that go into making it possible. So to win more than 20 is a staggering feat.

At 31 years of age this will be Phelps’s last Olympics but his mere presence at Rio has been uplifting at a time when the Games has found itself mired in controversy over the Russian doping scandal.

It needs box-office stars like Phelps and Usain Bolt to remind the billions of TV viewers around the world, and perhaps even the competitors themselves, that this is still the greatest show on earth.

Phelps, like Bolt, is the biggest name in his sport and while he might not ooze charisma in quite the same way as the Jamaican superstar, he is no less of a champion.

It’s easy to get carried away with superlatives when talking about sporting heroes but the fact Phelps’s Olympic gold medal haul is more than double that of former Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina, who is second on the list, is proof of his greatness.

Some may point to Sir Steve Redgrave who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympics and say this is an even greater achievement. It’s true that Phelps is fortunate to be in a sport where it’s possible to win multiple medals thanks to the numerous team events, but this shouldn’t detract from his success.

We all cheer for our own country’s sportsmen and women but we can also appreciate brilliance when we see it. And if the Olympics is all about encouraging unity through sport and inspiring people to be the best they can, then they don’t come any more inspiring than Michael Phelps.