Michael Phelps’ 23 Olympic gold medals still stand as the most ever by an athlete. Nearly a decade after his last race, the Baltimore native has another accomplishment to add to his vast collection.
Phelps was ranked the best athlete of the 21st century by ESPN, which published a list of the top 100 athletes since 2000 this week. Fellow Olympian Katie Ledecky, who grew up in Bethesda, and former Ravens Ray Lewis and Ed Reed were also featured.
Phelps came in ahead of tennis star Serena Williams, World Cup champion Lionel Messi, NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady in ESPN’s ranking. The swimmer’s best performance came in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. There, he won eight gold medals, the most by anyone in a single Olympics, and broke world records in seven of his eight races.
With 28 medals, Phelps is the most decorated Olympian ever.
Ledecky was ranked 15th. The Olympic swimmer has seven gold medals and holds the world record in the 800- and 1,5000-meter freestyle events.
The 27-year-old is a heavy favorite to add to that total this summer in Paris. She won the 1,500-meter free by 20 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials earlier this year, more than a decade after she originally set the world record in the event.
ESPN slotted Lewis at No. 61. The Hall of Famer, 12-time Pro Bowl selection and eight-time first-team All-Pro is one of just eight players in NFL history to win multiple Defensive Player of the Year Awards. He’s the only player in league history to tally 40 sacks and 30 interceptions over a career and was a key figure in both of the Ravens’ Super Bowl victories.
Often patrolling the middle of the defense with him was Reed, who was ranked No. 99 and the 11th highest-ranked football player on the list. The former Ravens safety was the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year, the team’s second consecutive winner after Lewis was given his second a year before, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and member of the 2000s All-Decade team.
Reed’s versatility and dynamic abilities were constantly on display over his 11 years in Baltimore. He set the record for longest interception returned for a touchdown in 2004 at 106 yards, then topped his own mark four years later with a 107-yarder. He’s the only player in NFL history to score touchdowns on a punt return, blocked punt, fumble recovery and interception.
ESPN used input from more than 70,000 votes for its top 100 ranking. Using an Elo rating system, the list was narrowed down to 100 athletes, which was then evaluated by a panel to identify any inconsistencies or oversights and determine the final ranking.