Michael Phelps has etched his name into the record books again after winning his 19th gold medal

NO man is an island. But if Michael Phelps was his own entity, he’d be the 37th most successful country in the history of the Olympics. Not bad, not bad.

Michael Phelps with his 19th gold medal.

NO man is an island.

But if Michael Phelps was his own entity, he’d be the 37th most successful country in the history of the Olympics.

Not bad, Phelpsy, not bad.

After winning his 19th gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay on Monday, Phelps not only consolidated his status as the most successful Olympic athlete, but surpassed Austria and Argentina for total gold medals won.

Michael Phelps with his 19th gold medal.

Other countries he’s better than?

Jamaica, Mexico, Ireland, Iran, Thailand, Croatia, and the Czech Republic to name a few.

Alarmingly, Phelps has won 10 more gold medals than India, a country with a population in excess of 1.25 billion people.

But in fairness to India and indeed the rest of the world, if Phelps was an island he wouldn’t have won anywhere near as many gold medals.

In fact, eight of his 19 golds have come from relay wins.

But even then, the stakes don’t change that much, with Phelps the 48th most successful country in terms of gold medals.

With his gold medal last night Michael Phelps became the 37th most successful country of all time in the Olympics just behind Argentina.

— Sam Freedman (@Samfr) August 8, 2016

If we turn our attention strictly to swimming, the story is one of complete domination.

There’s daylight between Phelps and the next best in American Mark Spitz, who has nine gold medals to his name.

To put things into perspective, Australia’s greatest Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe won five gold medals.

And with three events still to swim in Rio, there’s every chance Phelps could add to his tally.

Originally published as Michael Phelps has etched his name into the record books again after winning his 19th gold medal