From the Christian Science Monitor, Monday, Aug. 18:

Beyond his numbers in Beijing -- seven world records, the most gold medals in one Olympics (eight) -- Michael Phelps, also revived humanity's faith in progress by breaking through so many physical limits that once seemed impossible.

His triumph isn't only of the will or an anatomically ideal body but of something else: a vision of something greater.

"With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination," he said. It is advice he freely gives, coming out of an awe-inspiring, aw-shucks modesty.

And he makes it all look so fun and easy that it compels other Olympians to realize they, too, can break records. Sure, competitive swimming has become faster since Mark Spitz won his seven golds in the 1972 Munich Games.

But even Spitz says Phelps may now be the greatest athlete of all time. This is based on the fact that swimming now draws a crowd of competitors larger and mightier than ever before. Phelps was up against men whose governments lavish millions of dollars on athletes to win medals for national honor.

But he won his gold medals by excelling in all four of swimming's strokes, and in 17 races ranging from 100 to 400 meters, and over just nine days. He won even when his goggles suddenly leaked during one race and he had to guess where he was in the pool. He won despite having broken his wrist in December.

Most sports are a mix of individual and collective effort, driven by a common vision of breaking both personal limits and the records of past competitors. On Sunday, after his final win in Beijing, the world lifted Phelps up to the pantheon of sports greats.

But it was really lifting up the ideals of sport that heroes like Phelps inspire in others. Progress in sports is as possible as it is in all of life, a fact that is as enduring as the gold in Phelps's many Olympic medals.