The greatest Olympian of all time - The results

Sports columnists have been debating whether American swimmer Michael Phelps, now the most decorated Olympian ever with 22 medals, is the greatest Olympian of all time. So, we put it to a vote among the CBC Community.

CBCNews.ca readers named Canadian cyclist and speed skater Clara Hughes the greatest Olympian. She is the only person to have won multiple Olympic medals in both the Winter and Summer Games.

Phelps placed second in our unscientific poll of the CBC Community. Here's how the Olympians ranked in our vote:

1. Clara Hughes, Canada (speeder skating, cycling)
2. Michael Phelps, U.S.A. (swimming)
3. Jesse Owens, U.S.A. (track and field)
4. Carl Lewis, U.S.A. (track and field)
5. Nadia Comeneci, Romania (gymnastics)
6. Paavo Nurmi, Finland (track and field)
7. Larisa Latynina, U.S.S.R. (gymnastics)
8. Mark Spitz, U.S.A. (swimming)
9. Jim Thorpe, U.S.A. (track and field)
10. Bjorn Daehlie, Norway (cross-country skiing)
11. Steve Redgrave, Great Britain (rowing)

We also had two write-in candidates (in italics, above) who received a significant number of votes: Jim Thorpe, who won two gold medals for the U.S. at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm in decathlon and the original track and field pentathlon event, and Briton Steve Redgrave won rowing gold medals in five consecutive Olympics Games from 1984 to 2000.

Thanks for taking part in our poll!