Certainly the greatest swimmer and one of the greatest Olympians of all time. He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of August 2, 2008, Phelps has broken thirty-seven world records in swimming. He also holds the record for the most gold medals at a single Olympics, his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz’s seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972. Few days after the 2008 Olympic Games, Michael Phelps was at the YMCA of Greater New York to meet youngsters and swim with them.