Greatest Olympian Ever ??
Aug 13th 2008, 1:07 pm
#16
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
Michael Phelps should be congratulated on his magnificent achievement of 11 Olympic Gold medals , and Im not suggesting otherwise .....
BUT........Come on now, swimming is an easier event to win medals in than Track and Field, so it hardly makes him the greatest Olympian ever !
I dont know how many different distances there are in swimming, but multiply those by the various strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breast stroke, butterfly) and thats a hell of a lot of medals up for grabs.
True, there are a lot of different distances to run in track and field.......but you can only "run" one way,.....there are NOT 4 different styles of running !!
BUT........Come on now, swimming is an easier event to win medals in than Track and Field, so it hardly makes him the greatest Olympian ever !
I dont know how many different distances there are in swimming, but multiply those by the various strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breast stroke, butterfly) and thats a hell of a lot of medals up for grabs.
True, there are a lot of different distances to run in track and field.......but you can only "run" one way,.....there are NOT 4 different styles of running !!
Doesn't that make it HARDER to win swimming medals? Or am I missing something? I'm with Shiva on this...............
Aug 13th 2008, 1:12 pm
#17
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
How is it ridiculous, its a fact.
Swiming is swimming. Ok you learn 4 different techniques, but you're in a pool using your arms to move through water.
To learn different track and field events is totally different. If it wasnt then there would be a dozen Daley Thompson's in the history of the Olympics
Im not a swimming expert, but its not uncommon for swimmers to win 2, 3, 4 Golds at at time.....How many athletes win 3 or 4 Golds at a time ? Very few indeed, which kind of proves my point
Swiming is swimming. Ok you learn 4 different techniques, but you're in a pool using your arms to move through water.
To learn different track and field events is totally different. If it wasnt then there would be a dozen Daley Thompson's in the history of the Olympics
Im not a swimming expert, but its not uncommon for swimmers to win 2, 3, 4 Golds at at time.....How many athletes win 3 or 4 Golds at a time ? Very few indeed, which kind of proves my point
Jim Thorpe, Bob Mathias, Bil Toomey, Bruce Jenner, Christian Schenk, Dan O'Brien, Roman Sebrle........... all great in their own eras. Best sporting event of all - no other sport comes close to requiring that sort of versatility - apart from when you want to win lots of Olympic swimming medals.............
Aug 13th 2008, 1:34 pm
#18
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
True, there are a lot of different distances to run in track and field.......but you can only "run" one way,.....there are NOT 4 different styles of running !!
Doesn't that make it HARDER to win swimming medals? Or am I missing something? I'm with Shiva on this...............
Doesn't that make it HARDER to win swimming medals? Or am I missing something? I'm with Shiva on this...............
No, cos they dont exists...
The point is Track and Field athletes dont have the opportunity to run any other way, unlike swimmers who can swim in various styles, hence my point that there are more opportunites for swimmers to win gold medals !
Aug 13th 2008, 1:41 pm
#19
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
So do you consider Carl Lewis for example a lesser Olympian that Phelps, because he didnt win the 100m backwards run or the 100m sideways run ?
No, cos they dont exists...
The point is Track and Field athletes dont have the opportunity to run any other way, unlike swimmers who can swim in various styles, hence my point that there are more opportunites for swimmers to win gold medals !
No, cos they dont exists...
The point is Track and Field athletes dont have the opportunity to run any other way, unlike swimmers who can swim in various styles, hence my point that there are more opportunites for swimmers to win gold medals !
Aug 13th 2008, 1:43 pm
#20
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Aug 13th 2008, 1:53 pm
#22
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Aug 13th 2008, 2:57 pm
#23
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
So do you consider Carl Lewis for example a lesser Olympian that Phelps, because he didnt win the 100m backwards run or the 100m sideways run ?
No, cos they dont exists...
The point is Track and Field athletes dont have the opportunity to run any other way, unlike swimmers who can swim in various styles, hence my point that there are more opportunites for swimmers to win gold medals !
No, cos they dont exists...
The point is Track and Field athletes dont have the opportunity to run any other way, unlike swimmers who can swim in various styles, hence my point that there are more opportunites for swimmers to win gold medals !
Definitely.
Aug 13th 2008, 3:52 pm
#24
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Aug 13th 2008, 4:22 pm
#25
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
There is also a difference between sprint and distance events in swimming.
I'd say Thompson was up there, simply because of the difficulty of mastering 10 different events.
Or someone like Sir Steve for having the longevity to win medals consistently over very long period.
Michael Johnson? I'd love to have seen him triple up :-)
Aug 13th 2008, 4:25 pm
#26
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
Edited for accuracy (and a reason why Lewis could never be the greatest Olympian)
Aug 13th 2008, 4:28 pm
#27
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
How do you figure that you can only run 'one way'?
There is also a difference between sprint and distance events in swimming.
I'd say Thompson was up there, simply because of the difficulty of mastering 10 different events.
Or someone like Sir Steve for having the longevity to win medals consistently over very long period.
Michael Johnson? I'd love to have seen him triple up :-)
There is also a difference between sprint and distance events in swimming.
I'd say Thompson was up there, simply because of the difficulty of mastering 10 different events.
Or someone like Sir Steve for having the longevity to win medals consistently over very long period.
Michael Johnson? I'd love to have seen him triple up :-)
You cant run in 4 different styles, like you can swim in 4 different styles
Aug 13th 2008, 4:36 pm
#28
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
So presumably Lewis has no excuse for not winning the marathon, the 1500m and the 110m hurdles then?
Aug 13th 2008, 5:10 pm
#29
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
Anyway, I was just using him as an example......At the end of the day, its a matter of opinion, and at the outset, I said its a magnificent achievement of Phelps' but in my opinion, it is easier to win a gold medal haul in swimming when compared to track and field
I didnt even mention he's an ugly looking git !
Last edited by BangleMan; Aug 13th 2008 at 5:11 pm. Reason: .
Aug 13th 2008, 6:25 pm
#30
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Re: Greatest Olympian Ever ??
100m, 200m and long jump should be enough, no ?
Anyway, I was just using him as an example......At the end of the day, its a matter of opinion, and at the outset, I said its a magnificent achievement of Phelps' but in my opinion, it is easier to win a gold medal haul in swimming when compared to track and field
I didnt even mention he's an ugly looking git !
Anyway, I was just using him as an example......At the end of the day, its a matter of opinion, and at the outset, I said its a magnificent achievement of Phelps' but in my opinion, it is easier to win a gold medal haul in swimming when compared to track and field
I didnt even mention he's an ugly looking git !
I think as no one has won this many golds ever before it's kind of hard to do.
Basically I think your an aquaticist / swimaphobic a-hole.