The Olympic Performance That Might Be Better Than Shohei Ohtani’s Two-way Classic

When two-way awesome Shohei Ohtani turned his slugging slump into nan top crippled successful shot history in Game 4 of nan National League Championship Series, it started a chat successful the Sports Illustrated newsroom: What are immoderate of nan different apical individual performances successful sports? And really do they comparison to Ohtani’s 10 strikeouts and 3 location runs?

Here are our picks for Olympic sports, swimming and gymnastics.

There are 2 nominees for this. The first: Michael Phelps winning Olympic golden medals astatine nan 2008 Beijing Olympics connected nan aforesaid time successful nan 200-meter butterfly and 800-meter freestyle relay—both world records. The second: Frenchman Leon Marchand’s 200-meter breaststroke/200-meter butterfly double golden that blew nan tile disconnected nan venue astatine nan 2024 Paris Olympics.

The evident personification to inquire which was champion is Bob Bowman, who coached them both. He isn’t choosing. “Those would beryllium nan apical 2 that I tin deliberation of,” he tells Sports Illustrated, without budging an inch successful either direction.

“That's astir apt nan top double I've ever seen successful nan history of nan sport,” Michael Phelps said connected nan NBC broadcast nan nighttime Leon Marchand won 2 golden medals. / Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated

Fine, I’ll make nan choice. Since Phelps’s 2nd golden was a relay, partially limited upon his teammates, I’ll spell pinch Marchand’s double. The first was nan butterfly, which required moving down world-record holder and reigning Olympic golden medalist Kristóf Milák successful nan last 25 meters. Less than 2 hours later, Le Roi Leon backed it up by winning nan breaststroke wire-to-wire, defeating nan defending Olympic champ successful that arena arsenic well, Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia. Marchand group Olympic records successful some events.

“That's astir apt nan top double I've ever seen successful nan history of nan sport,” Phelps said connected nan NBC broadcast that night, and that’s a capable endorsement for me.

Greater than Ohtani? I’m going pinch yes.  —Pat Forde

Women’s swimming: Katie Ledecky’s 2015 Worlds

Katie Ledecky competed successful a 200-meter free prelim, a 1,500-meter free last and nan 200-meter free semifinal each successful 1 day. / Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

In position of Ohtani-esque versatility, toggling betwixt a sprint arena and nan astir grueling of races would qualify. Katie Ledecky, queen of each freestyle, did it successful 2015 amended than immoderate female has.

On Aug. 4 astatine World Aquatics Championships successful Kazan, Russia, Ledecky dove successful for a preliminary power of nan 200-meter free soon aft 10 a.m. section time. She came retired qualified first for nan semifinals that night—but earlier she could aquatics that semi, she had to return attraction of nan 1,500 free.

That title went disconnected astatine 6:05 p.m. Ledecky had already surgery nan world grounds nan time earlier successful nan prelims and she did it again successful nan final, clocking successful astatine 15:25.48. That people that would guidelines for 3 years, until she collapsed it 1 much clip pinch a grounds that still stands.

About 20 minutes later, Ledecky had to disregard nan fatigue and lactic acerb buildup, reverting to sprint mentality for nan 200 semifinal. She hardly snuck into nan final, qualifying seventh—but went to triumph different golden nan adjacent night.

Greater than Ohtani? The only point holding Ledecky’s capacity backmost is that nan 200 freestyles that time were not pinch medals connected nan line. —P.F.

Kenzo Shirai’s level regular featured much than 22 twists. / Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

On Oct. 5, 2013, astatine nan World Championships successful Antwerp, Belgium, 17-year-old Japanese gymnast Kenzo Shirai debuted 2 brand-new skills successful nan last of nan level exercise, a backward quadruple-twisting layout somersault (named nan Shirai for him), and a guardant triple-twisting layout somersault (named nan Shirai II). Fans and opponents alike applauded arsenic he nailed nan past pass, which ended pinch nan Shirai—the first clip anyone had ever landed a quadruple twist successful a awesome final. His regular contained a preposterous 22 ¼ twists and made him nan youngest ever antheral world champion successful nan event. (We’re not counting it, because it happened a time later, but he besides dropped a caller accomplishment connected vault—a triple-twisting Yurchenko, called nan Shirai—in nan aforesaid event.) 

Greater than Ohtani? No. Shirai had a chaotic day, but his skills person much successful communal pinch 1 different than hitting and pitching do. —Stephanie Apstein

Women’s gymnastics: Maria Gorokhovskaya wins 5 medals successful 1 day

The top time successful gymnastics history has to beryllium July 23, 1952, erstwhile Soviet gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya won 5 medals—one gold, successful nan individual all-around, and 4 silvers, 1 each successful nan level exercise, nan vault, nan uneven bars and nan equilibrium beam. Even earlier she and her teammates added a golden successful nan squad arena and a metallic successful nan portable servants of nan state (since discontinued) connected July 24, that was nan astir Olympic medals ever for a woman—and she won them successful a day. (Because of nan measurement gymnastics events are now scheduled, Simone Biles, who you mightiness person expected to apical this list, has ne'er had a chance to rack up medals successful 1 time successful nan aforesaid way.) 

Greater than Ohtani? Yes. But if Ohtani does this again successful nan World Series, we’ll talk. —S.A.

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