Like I was saying...
I work damn hard. I toil in obscurity in hope that it will pay off some day. Unfortunately, I suspect that if someone rewarded me with everything I could wish for and a hundred times more - I might stop working as hard.
Psychology101.
I realize psychology isn't a real science - because everybody's different - but again, I'm going based off most people I've observed and even my own behaviour.
I wish Bolt the best...Phelps too...but it wouldn't shock me if their performances dropped.
Back to the fun stuff: Carl Lewis couldn't even get an endorsement. Moses Malone was dominant when nobody gave a shyt about tracknfield, running meets in big high school stadiums. Greg Louganis, like you said, made people pay attention to his sport - as in his sport wasn't popular and he trained to eat. None of these guys compare to Phelps or Bolt.