Track and field fans agree that Usain Bolt is the greatest sprinter of all-time. With 20 global gold medals and three world records the debate is pretty much settled.

The unsettled debate is whether Bolt is the greatest Olympian of all-time or athlete of all-time. We decided to see how Bolt's career matches up with fellow Olympian and 23x Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.

Phelps' and Bolt's yearly win/loss totals at global championships over their career:

				PHELPS			BOLT
Year	Events	W	L	WIN %	W	L	WIN %
2000	Individual	0	1	0.000	0	0	-
2000	Relays	0	0	-	0	0	-
2001	Individual	1	0	1.000	0	0	-
2001	Relays	0	0	-	0	0	-
2003	Individual	3	1	0.750	0	0	-
2003	Relays	1	1	0.500	0	0	-
2004	Individual	4	1	0.800	0	1	0.000
2004	Relays	2	1	0.667	0	0	-
2005	Individual	2	2	0.500	0	1	0.000
2005	Relays	3	0	1.000	0	0	-
2007	Individual	5	0	1.000	0	1	0.000
2007	Relays	2	1	0.667	0	1	0.000
2008	Individual	5	0	1.000	2	0	1.000
2008	Relays	3	0	1.000	1	0	1.000
2009	Individual	2	1	0.667	2	0	1.000
2009	Relays	3	0	1.000	1	0	1.000
2011	Individual	2	2	0.500	1	1	0.500
2011	Relays	2	1	0.667	1	0	1.000
2012	Individual	2	2	0.500	2	0	1.000
2012	Relays	2	1	0.667	1	0	1.000
2013	Individual	0	0	-	2	0	1.000
2013	Relays	0	0	-	1	0	1.000
2015	Individual	0	0	-	2	0	1.000
2015	Relays	0	0	-	1	0	1.000
2016	Individual	2	1	0.667	2	0	1.000
2016	Relays	3	0	1.000	1	0	1.000

After totaling the wins/losses, Bolt has a higher winning percentage in all eight categories:

Individual Events	W	L	WIN %	W	L	WIN %
Olympics '00-'16	13	5	0.722	6	1	0.857
Olympics '08-'16	9	3	0.750	6	0	1.000
Olympics & Worlds '00-'16	28	11	0.718	13	4	0.765
Olympics & Worlds '08-'16	13	6	0.684	13	1	0.929

Individual & Relay Events	W	L	WIN %	W	L	WIN %
Olympics '00-'16	23	7	0.767	9	1	0.900
Olympics '08-'16	17	4	0.810	9	0	1.000
Olympics & Worlds '00-'16	49	16	0.754	20	5	0.800
Olympics & Worlds '08-'16	26	8	0.765	20	1	0.952

Now while Phelps fans would like to point out that his 49 global golds are greater, compared to Bolt's 20, medal count does not tell the whole story.

Swimming and athletics are two very different sports. In swimming, the average elite athlete can typically compete in 1-5 individual events and 1-3 relay events at the championship level. Whereas in track, the average elite athlete is very limited. See list below:

Event Maximum:
Elite Thrower: 3 Events (SP/DT/HT)
Elite Jumper: 2 Events (LJ/TJ)
Elite Sprinter: 3 Events (100/200/4x1)
Elite Long Sprinter: 3 Events (200/400/4x4)
Elite Mid-Distance Runner: 2 Events (800/1500)
Elite Distance Runner: 2 Events (1500/5K or 5K/10K or 10K/Marathon)
(An elite jumper/sprinter theoretically could do 5 events (LJ/TJ/100/200/4x1) but this is so rare. Not even the great Carl Lewis triple jumped.)

Thus, when comparing Bolt and Phelps one should look at their win percentage to see how truly dominate they were over their competitors. Bolt did not lose as often as Phelps did, and even when you ignore their early years, Bolt was still more dominate in his prime.

Other Contenders:
Carl Lewis: 17-5 global record from 1983-1996
Ashton Eaton: Has been perfect since 2012 and would have to continue his streak to 2020 to join the ranks of Bolt and Phelps
Mo Farah: Has been perfect since 2012 and would also have to go to 2020, which is unlikely due to his age
Kerri Walsh Jennings: Her beach volleyball global championship career record is 6-2
Micheal Jordan: 6x NBA Champion
Wayne Gretzky: He's really good at hockey
Tiger Woods: The early years