While Lewis holds his place in history in part for winning medals in four different events, no other sports offer the same opportunities for multiple medals as swimming and, to a lesser extent, gymnastics.
His blue-eyed portrait, in white uniform with gold braid and multiple medals, stared down from walls in offices and private houses alike; but he was stocky and dull, the typical son of a German immigrant brewer, and preferred desk-duties to speeches and parades.
His point is this: It is much easier to win multiple medals in sports like swimming and gymnastics than in track and field, because there are more individual events.
Always thoughtful, if not overly so, Miller answered that as the multiple medal favorite and poster boy for Olympic hype, he found nothing pure about his 2006 quest.
Czechoslovakia, Sweden and the United States were also competitive during this period and won multiple medals.
This spring, he established himself as a contender for multiple medals at the 2010 Olympics and as a challenger to Shani Davis, the top United States star.
He has won multiple medals at various X Games and Gravity Games events.
The 22-year-old from Cardiff gained multiple medals at the British track championships in 2013 and 2014, and took bronze medals at last year's European under-23 championships.
Denied the multiple medals on offer in other sports, and facing a huge battle every four years to claim the single spot on offer in his class, Ainslie's run of medals across five Games ensures he must feature alongside Sir Chris Hoy, Sir Steve Redgrave, Kelly Holmes and Bradley Wiggins in any debate over Britain's greatest ever Olympian.
