Too Many Medal for Phelps.

Don't get me wrong, Michael Phelps is an amazing swimmer. He and his space age LZR Speedo Swim suit are blowing away records and opponents in the pool.

Yet, something is disappointing about the whole act. Olympic swimmers receive twice as many medals as nearly any other sport, and each winning swimmer tends to walk away with medals in pairs.

In Olympic swimming, for each type of swim, whether it is for the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, there is both a 100m and a 200m race. Unlike other sports, there is really not much difference in skill between these two distances except for a small bit of endurance. Yes, the competitors slow slightly in the final laps, but the winner of the 100m is nearly always the winner of the 200. In Beijing, like Athens, Sydney and others, it is very rare that the athlete who wins a 100m fails to win a 200m. Each winning swimmer gets to walk away with at least two medals.

Additionally, the swimmers get to compete in a contest called a medley. The medley is a combination of events, similar to a pentathalon or the gymnastics "all-round" competition. Its probably the truest test of a swimmers capabilities, yet the Olympics rewards a 200m Medlay (basically a length of each stroke) and a 400m Medlay, where the athletes do exactly the same event for twice as long. As to this the medlay relay, where a team does this.

Swimming is also the only sport where there is 3 relays. Swimmers can walk away with 3 golds without being able to win a medal on their own.

In Athens, 3 of Phelps' medals came from relay events. In beijing, he is eligible for another 3 medals for being in a relay.

What other sport allows athletes to win so many medals with basically performing the skill multiple times? Should Basketball add a 30 minute game as well? Should we add a 100m and 200m Sidestep and Hop to the track events?

Phelps has raised the medal count to a level where no other athlete has a realistic chance of achieving except a swimmer. Beating the last swimmer (Mark Spitz) who also racked up all of his Gold's in two Olympics.

The Olympics are about individuals achievement and recognizing the best in sports, but the pool's generosity is too rich.

Its too late now to roll back Phelps medals, but in the future, we need to cut down the number of swim events or at least add some real variation. If an athlete can win medal in 8 different event, fine. But three relays, two medleys, two butterflys and one freestyle are worth 4 medals, not 8.