Leonidas Of Rhodes' Olympic Record Equalled By Michael Phelps 2,000 Year On

Michael Phelps won his 13th individual Olympic gold (his 22nd overall) on Thursday night, officially making him the athlete with the most individual medals in history.

But while many have labelled him the GOAT (that’s Greatest Of All Time) for a while, it is actually only now that he can rightfully claim that title.

With his victory in the 200m individual medley at the Rio Olympics, the US swimmer finally beat the 2,168-year-old record held by Leonidas of Rhodes.

**An athlete is crowned after winning an event at the ancient Olympics**

While Phelps’ medals are for a range of swimming events, Leonidas specialised in foot races (none of which exist any more).

Here’s how the athletes measure up...

Born

Michael Phelps of USA: 1985 AD

Leonidas of Rhodes: 188 BC

Winning Events

Michael Phelps of the USA:

100 m butterfly
200 m butterfly
200 m medley
400 m medley
4×200 m freestyle
4×100 m medley
200 m freestyle
4×100 m freestyle

**A revival of the hoplitodromos, one of Leonidas' winning events**

Leonidas of Rhodes:

Stadion - this was the premier event of the gymnikos agon, the nude competition. This was a 200-yard (approximately 180m) run. The winner of this was often considered to be the overall winner of the games.
Diaulos - this was approximately double the length of the stadion. Competitors ran up to a post, ran around it and back to the start line.
Hoplitodromos - the “race of soldiers”. Instead of running naked, competitors wore a helmet, greaves (shin armour) and shield used by soldiers. The combined weight of this came to around 50lbs (22kg). This was usually the same distance as the diaulos event.