American swimmer Michael Phelps' quest for a gold medal record has captivated fans -- and bloggers.

During the first week of the Olymipcs, Phelps was the most buzzed-about athlete, according to Nielsen Online, which analyzed online discussion of more than 50 high profile athletes competing in basketball, gymnastics, beach volleyball, and swimming events.

Basketball players Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, as well as American swimmer Dara Torres rounded out the top five in Nielsen's ranking of the most buzzworthy Olympic athletes. 

Overall, swimmers and basketball players received the lion's share of the buzz, with 46% of all online discussions mentioning swimmers, and 38% referring to basketball players, according to Nielsen. 

Gymnasts (9%) and beach volleyball players (7%) were discussed online far less frequently. 

View the full press release.

Read Reuters' coverage of Nielsen's results.