Golden boy is master of the game of inches

IT was sickening to read Terry Prone’s bewildering opinion (August 18) of Michael Phelps’s unbelievable achievements at the Olympic Games.

The suggestion that Phelps has not inspired “ordinary folk” to do extraordinary things, is in Ms Prone’s own words, “hogwash”.

Phelps has single-handedly raised the bar for swimmers worldwide and forced others to perform well beyond their wildest dreams. It is a typical Irish begrudging response to one of the greatest athletes ever to walk the earth.

Neither can I understand Ms Prone’s view that his victories are “untriumphant” due to the tiny winning margins in a couple of races.

This only highlights the pure determination of the man. “Life is a game of inches,” as Al Pacino said in On Any Given Sunday. Phelps fought for those inches, dedicated his life to winning those inches and has finally reaped the rewards.

We should be honoured that we lived to see Michael Phelps swim.

John William Kirby

Barrow

Ardfert

Tralee

Co Kerry