"You see Usain Bolt up close and he looks like a horse" - When Michael Phelps opened up about his first interaction with the world's fastest man 

Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt competed together at four editions of the Olympic Games but it wasn't until the 2017 Laureus Awards that they met for the first time. The American was overwhelmed by the height of the world's fastest man and once claimed that he found the Jamaican's legs 'massive'.

Phelps made his Olympic debut at the 2000 Olympic Games, four years before Bolt made his own at the 2004 Athens Games. Both athletes went on a medal drought in their debut campaigns and two decades later, they are arguably the two greatest Olympians of all time.

However, as destiny had it, the two greats didn't shake hands until the 2017 Laureus Sports Awards when they met en route to the event at an airport. Recalling his first meeting with the 100m world record holder in an interview with NBC later that year, Phelps said:

"We landed at the airport at the same time, and we were both walking through security. I was like, oh nice, we’ve only competed in the last three Olympics together, and this is the first time we’re saying hello. We just kind of joked about it."

While the duo didn't talk much, the American swimmer was overwhelmed by Bolt's 'massive' legs and towering 6 ft 5-inch frame and joked that he looked like a horse.

"It was pretty small talk, nothing really major. I was going to get a picture with him, but we didn’t even get a photo. We were just kind of both doing our own thing. Obviously, it’s cool watching somebody like him and watching what he does. Then you see him up close and personal. His legs are massive. He looks like a horse. So tall," Michael Phelps added.

The 23-time Olympic said it was bizarre that he had never seen Bolt at any Olympic Village despite the duo being the biggest storylines at the Games from 2008-16.

"It’s like, we were the big stories of the Games, and we never had the chance to meet until now. It’s just kind of bizarre. I never saw him once in any of the [Olympic] villages that we’ve ever had. I never saw him," he added.

Phelps won Comeback of The Year while Bolt took home the Athlete of The Year award at the ceremony before posing in a selfie together with other attendees as Jamaican unlocked his iconic “To Di World” pose.

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Michael Phelps picks between himself and Usain Bolt

Michael Phelps in attendance as Olympic swimmers testify before House panel on anti-doping measures - (Source: Getty)

Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are without a doubt the greatest of all time in their sport but there's always been a debate about who's a better Olympian. When the question was posed to Phelps during an interview with The Score in 2017, he didn't shy away from picking himself.

"I'm gonna have to say myself right? I have to say me," he answered [7:45].

The American swimmer is the most decorated Olympian in history with 23 gold medals to his name and while Bolt only has eight, his 8-1 win/loss record at the Games remains unmatched.