At the Beijing Olympics, swimmer Michael Phelps won eight gold medals, the most ever by an athlete at a single Olympiad. But, since it's swimming, Phelps didn't swim as fast as he could eight different times, be it in a relay or shorter and longer distances. Oh no. Phelps swam forwards, backwards, in an elliptical balderdash and then whatever the hell the "front crawl" is, all at distances of either one hundred or two hundred meters in individual and relay races.
Also at the Beijing Olympics, sprinter Usain Bolt became the fastest human being that ever lived. He set the world-record in the 100-meter dash — while celebrating well before the finish line — and then won the 200-meter dash — besting Michael Johnson's thought to be untouchable world record. He then merely helped his Jamaican compatriots set the world record in the 4x100-meter relay.
Bolt — the fastest human being ever — was overshadowed, of course, by Phelps in the media. Bolt had three things going against him: Phelps being white, Phelps being American, swimming valuing different styles of strokes over fastest times.
