Spitz vs Phelps
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Phelps wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
Spitz wins: no category outright
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Phelps leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories. 23 Olympic golds across five Games — the most decorated Olympian in history.
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Spitz — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
| Metric | SpitzRetired | PhelpsRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic golds | 9 | 23 |
| World records | 33 | — |
| Olympic medals | 11 | 28 |
| World Championship golds | 5 | — |
| Golds at one Games | 7 | — |
| Pan American golds | 5 | — |
| World titles (LC) | — | 26 |
| World records set | — | 39 |
| Olympic Games | — | 5 |
| Golds in one Games | — | 8 |
| Dominance w25% | 90 | 99 |
| Peak w20% | 96 | 100 |
| Longevity w20% | 70 | 93 |
| Honours w20% | 90 | 100 |
| Statistics w15% | 92 | 98 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
What do you think?
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