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Phelps' eight gold medals makes us rethink greatness

Seventeen races in eight days? Eight gold medals? Seven world records? Michael Phelps' achievement stands as the greatest ever. Story

Originally Published: August 15, 2008
By Jemele Hill | Page 2

What's an athlete? Who's an athlete? What's mental toughness? What are limits? What is greatness?

We thought we knew those answers before Michael Phelps. But now that we've witnessed Phelps win eight gold medals, it turns out we didn't know anything.

Forget your previous notions. Forget other things you've seen from the other world's best athletes. What Phelps has done is as remarkably different as God giving us the sun one day and the seas the next.

But ...

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