The staff at the Hart Smoke Signal have chosen to highlight some of the greatest athletes of all time in our new Smoke Signal Tradition, the greatest of all time, or GOAT, of The Issue. For this issue, we will be highlighting Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian and swimmer in US and world history. Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1985. Phelps discovered his love of swimming at a young age, qualifying for his first Olympic games in 2000 at the young age of 15. At the Sydney games in 2000, Phelps qualified for the 200-meter fly finals, where he finished in 5th place. Four years later, Phelps’ historic medal success began at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where he won six gold medals and two bronze medals. Phelps won the gold in the 100-meter butterfly, the 200m butterfly, the 200m medley, the 400 medley, the 4X200m free relay and the 4x100m medley relay. 

Four years later, Phelps would make Olympic history at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where he won eight gold medals, breaking the previous record of seven golds held by Mark Spitz. Phelps won gold medals in the 200m freestyle, the 100m butterfly, the 200m butterfly, the 200m medley, the 400m medley, the 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay and the 4x100m medley relay. 

In 2012 there was much speculation that the 2012 Olympic Games in London would be Phelps’ last Olympics. In London, Phelps won six medals, four golds, and two silvers. Phelps won the gold in the 100m butterfly, the 200m medley, the 4x200m freestyle relay, and the 4x100m medley relay. Phelps chose not to retire after these games, determining that the 2016 games in Rio De Janeiro would be his last.

At the 2016 games in Rio, Phelps won five gold medals and one silver medal. Phelps won the gold in the 200m butterfly, the 200m medley, the 4x100m freestyle relay, the 4x200m freestyle relay and the 4x100m medley relay. Phelps won the silver medal in his best event, the 100m fly, losing the gold medal to Joseph Schooling. Schooling was only a child when Phelps was at the peak of his Olympic career, highlighting Phelps’s impact on the sport. Phelps in all won 28 Olympic medals, with 23 of them being gold. Over his entire swim career, Phelps also broke 39 world records in both individual and relay events. Phelps’ almost two-decade-long dominance of the swimming world is why he is the Hart Smoke Signal’s GOAT of the Issue.