How many gold medals can Michael Phelps win in Rio?

Will anybody beat Michael Phelps at the Rio Olympics?

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Michael Phelps went through hell and back to get to the Rio Olympics. Already sitting at 18 Gold medals, he called it quits on his career only to come back in 2014. He also came under lots of scrutiny after he was photographed with a bong, and for getting arrested on DUI charges.

However, he has put the past behind him and is completely focused on swimming. So far at the Olympics, he is two for two, having squashed his beef with Chad Le Clos in emphatic style. His other Gold may have been in a relay event, but he played an instrumental role in his team’s win.

He has brought his Gold medal tally to 20, practically solidifying his status as the greatest Summer Olympian of all time. But as far as Rio goes, he’s only just getting started. If he wins in a 4×100 m relay today, he could bring home another Gold medal, but beyond that, he has three more Finals to compete in: 200m individual medley (August 11), 100m butterfly (August 12), and a 4x100m medley relay (August 13).

Of course, he has to go through a preliminary round for those other two individual Finals, but it’s a fools’ errand to suggest that he won’t qualify for those. And if he does a clean sweep and finishes the Olympics with 24 Gold medals, then that would make for the best moment of the Games by far.

By this point, all of Phelps’ races have become appointment television, and seeing him make history at this stage of his career has been phenomenal to watch.