Kim Rhode won a gold medal in 1996 and hasn't failed to medal in every Olympic Games since.
Rhode became the first American ever to win an individual medal in five consecutive Olympics when she , setting several other records in the process.
While American swimmer Michael Phelps' historic gold medal chase has garnered the most attention at the London Olympics, one columnist believes Rhode deserves to be recognized as the greatest American Olympian of all time.
AOL Fanhouse columnist David Whitley wrote Sunday that Rhode is "the greatest Olympian in U.S. history" and asserted that "there’s no doubt [she's] as gifted as Michael Phelps."
The only other athletes in the world to medal in five straight games were a Japanese judo competitor and three German Lugers, according to Whitley. Rhode surpassed Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Al Oerter, the only Americans to medal in four straight Olympics, the Huffington Post reports.
Do you think Rhode's achievement should rank as the best ever by an American in the Olympics?
