Olympic Gold Medal Broadcaster Rowdy Gaines Compares Michael Phelps to Tom Brady, Previews Paris Games

I had the opportunity to speak with 3x Olympic Gold Medalist and U.S. Hall of Fame swimmer Rowdy Gaines ahead of this month's Paris Olympics, in which he will once again be calling all the swimming events for NBC Sports. Gaines has been able to dominate both in the swimming pool and in the broadcast booth, where he has been at the microphone for some of swimming's greatest moments on the Olympic stage since 1992 - including all of Michael Phelps' races - someone who Gaines says is the greatest Olympian of all time.

MICHAEL PHELPS IS THE GREATEST ATHLETE OF ALL TIME

When one hears the name Michael Phelps, they are immediately brought back to the mid 2000s through the 2010s when Phelps' dominance in swimming made him a must-see for all Americans. Yet, some may forget just HOW good he was at the sport.

Michael Phelps holds the single Olympic record of 28 medals as well as 23 gold medals (including 8 gold in 2008!) - an utterly ridiculous accomplishment when you realize that he had been going up against the greatest swimmers in the world from the 2004 through 2016 Olympics. 

"Michael was a once-in-a-lifetime, forget about a once-in-a-generation athlete, he was a once-in-a-lifetime athlete that actually transcended the sport of swimming," Gaines told me before calling him the greatest athlete of all time - the true GOAT if you would. 

Michael Phelps painting by Brian Fox as part of the Golden 8 Collection. Fans are currently able to bid on this and other Fox paintings.

(Getty Images / Brian Fox)

"He's the greatest Olympian in history. You could argue about so many other Olympians that made such an impact on the Olympic movement - Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, Jim Thorpe if you go way back, but nobody has won 28 Olympic medals - nobody has come close to that or 23 gold medals. It's pretty black and white to me - you base it on medals," Gaines continued.

"And he also had the single greatest performance at an Olympic Games. When you think about 8 Gold Medals, 17 races in 8 days… Gunz, when I swam 4 races in 8 days [in the 1984 Olympics in which Gaines won the 100m Freestyle Gold] and I thought I was going to die. I slept for two days after those races." And as far as 

TOM BRADY IS THE CLOSEST THING TO MICHAEL PHELPS

And if medals are what it ultimately comes down to, couldn't one say the same when it comes to perhaps Super Bowl Championship Rings?

When I asked Rowdy who he would compare Michael Phelps to in a different sport, he said that the only one that would come close from an individual standpoint is Tom Brady. Although Brady's 7x Super Bowl Championships isn't close to Phelps' 28 Medals, Gaines says that both athletes' mindset, demeanor and intensity are what put them at that GOAT caliber.

"You're going to get Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Muhammad Ali and athletes that have impacted their sport in a certain way, but none of them impacted their sport the same way that Michael Phelps did for the sport of swimming. But, if anyone came close, I would relate Phelps' focus to Tom Brady."

"Tom Brady had an intense focus that when you watched him compete, it was all about ramming it down [the opponent's] throat. And that's the way Michael Phelps functioned as an athlete as well," Gaines explained. "In their prime, I think Tom Brady or maybe Michael Jordan in a way, those two remind me most of Phelps based on my viewership… and noticing their [similar] intensities."

(Getty Images)

OLYMPICS BEGIN IN JUST A FEW WEEKS

"There's a story that Michael told me about how he was standing on the pool deck for about 5 minutes before [while others were warming up] and his coach came up to him and asked why he wasn't in the water yet and Michael said "I still have 3 minutes before I have to get in the water," Gaines said. "Michael had every single minute accounted for during that entire Olympics game - he had to and he also had to e a bit selfish at times. So, you're right, you have to have those blinders on and that ‘killer instinct’ on in order to do something like he did that had never been done before and will never be done again in the history of the sport."

Fans will be able to tune into the upcoming Paris Summer Olympics to see which Team USA members will hopefully be able to bring home their own medals when the first day of events starts on Saturday, July 27th. 

WHERE WOULD YOU RANK MICHAEL PHELPS AS FAR AS GOAT ATHLETE GOES? Email me: Michael.Gunzelman@OutKick.com or Tweet me: @TheGunzShow