When we think of the most successful Olympians of all time, some truly impressive individuals head the list – men and women who have dominated in a fashion that captivates the globe and puts those individuals into demi-god status.

Larissa Latynina, the legendary Russian gymnast – who won nine Olympic golds – holds a remarkable 18 medals in total and completely dominated the Games from 1956 to 1964. The remarkable Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi competed at the 1920 and 1924 Games in Antwerp and Paris, winning nine golds in track events ranging from the 1,500m to the 10,000m. And Carl Lewis, the dominant athlete of the 1980s and 1990s, won nine gold medals including a remarkable four consecutive long jump events.

In swimming, the most successful Olympian was California-born Mark Spitz – winner of nine Olympic golds - including seven at the 1972 Munich Games. This is the most gold medals ever collected at a single Olympics and the publicised record that Michael Phelps is trying to break.

With victory in the 200m butterfly and the 4x200m freestyle relay – both in world-record times – we now bear witness to arguably the greatest single athlete the world has ever seen. Phelps has now officially broken 30 world-best times – and if he adds three more, he will have broken more swimming records than any other person in history. 

For a man who has indicated that he will likely challenge at the 2012 Olympics in London, it is truly amazing that he could end up with twice as many gold medals as any other individual. 

There is no doubting the achievement. Phelps, four inches over six feet, is quite simply a freak of nature, and not since Ian Thorpe has the world seen such a dominating swimmer. Every gold medal he has won at the Beijing Games has come with an accompanying world record. He is an endorsement dream – with his chief sponsor Speedo promising him $1m if he breaks Spitz’s record of seven gold medals, and conservative estimates making him the highest-paid swimmer in the world, earning beyond $5m annually.

Swimming 17 races at these Games is a phenomenal workload, but one that the now-veteran swimmer seems comfortable with. He arrived at the Games as a superstar, having won six golds at Athens and seven at last year’s World Championships in Melbourne. He is in a different class. 

American team-mate Aaron Peirsol - himself a multiple backstroke gold medalist and world-record holder - said it might be once in a century you see something like Phelps. "He's not just winning, he's absolutely destroying everything. It's awesome to watch," Peirsol said. The backstroker is lucky that his stroke is the one that Phelps does not rule over.

Many will make arguments to cheapen the accomplishments of the Baltimore-born superstar. There are so many gold medals on offer in swimming (36 in all) – and rules that seem unfair in the pursuit of an elusive gold. Phelps' gold medal in the 4x100 relay in Athens was achieved without him even swimming in the final as FINA rules state that members of relay teams can be rotated, and that any contributing member will gain a medal. 

Likewise with the difference with distance-based events. Phelps is completely untouchable in the 400m individual medley and 200m butterfly events. Two more of his gold medal attempts are in these same disciplines but over half the distance. Only God would be capable of beating the American in these events – so is it really such an amazing achievement?

The same with the relay events – with Phelps so dominant a short distance freestyler, was it really going to be a mystery that he would win gold in his pet 200m event, and in the subsequent relays?  Especially without once-in-a-generation swimmers like Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband to challenge him?

Athletes who are completely dominant in their fields over two or three Olympics may be lucky to win any more than four gold medals – do immortals such as sprinter Michael Johnson deserve to wallow in the wake of Phelps? Alfred Oerter won four consecutive Olympic gold medals in the discus from 1956 to 1968 - he would never have been able to win more medals in throwing a shot or javelin.

But I digress, and aggressively hunt for debate. There is no doubt that Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer the world has ever seen and will go down in history as the greatest Olympian in the world, and will perhaps never be overtaken as such. But let’s see him truly make his mark on the swimming world – and compete in the 2012 10km marathon swim!