Celebrated Athletes Edit

Michael Phelps Named Sportsman of the Year by SI
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Michael Phelps, one of the most high-profile athletes in 2008, has been named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

No one can argue with SI’s choice, as Michael Phelps has arguably helped NBC to record ratings and revive interest in the sport of swimming after making history at the Beijing Olympic Games by winning 8 gold medals. Seven of these wins also set new world records.

“It is so obvious that he changed not only swimming, but the entire Olympic landscape,” Sports Illustrated Group editor Terry McDonell said of Phelps. He explained that the selection of Michael Phelps was “the easiest choice I have made.”