Michael Phelps!

[Libsmasher]

8 for 8 in gold medals! Let's hear it for greatest Olympian of all time!

 

[Pandora]

whoot!

 

[Popeye]

8 for 8 in gold medals! Let's hear it for greatest Olympian of all time!

That's ridiculous, while he may have won more gold medals in a single Olympics, several things need to be taken into account....it is easy to win multiple medals in swimming. The sport is far more forgiving on the body than track or gymnastics. And Phelps does not yet have the long-term record of the others.

Think of this as well, the record Phelps broke was that of Mark Spitz, not coincidentally another swimmer ( again, it is much easier to run up your medal count in swimming)...previous to this Olympics would you have claimed Spitz was the greatest Olympian of all time?

 

[Libsmasher]

That's ridiculous, while he may have won more gold medals in a single Olympics, several things need to be taken into account....it is easy to win multiple medals in swimming. The sport is far more forgiving on the body than track or gymnastics. And Phelps does not yet have the long-term record of the others.

Think of this as well, the record Phelps broke was that of Mark Spitz, not coincidentally another swimmer ( again, it is much easier to run up your medal count in swimming)...previous to this Olympics would you have claimed Spitz was the greatest Olympian of all time?

You don't know what you're talking about. Is there ANYONE who would, say, get gold medals in ping pong, swimming, and the 100 meter dash? Obviously not - nobody could ever manage separate training in their lifetime. Phelps won medals in several completely different swimming modes - spitz in only two. Using your argument, someone could say

"It's easy to win several medals in shooting"
"It's easy to win several medals in rowing"
"It's easy to win several medals in running"

etc etc etc

Sorry - you're "argument" about Phelps' swimming medals .....uh...doesn't hold water.

P.S.: Congrats on canada's 3 bronze medals.

 

[Popeye]

You don't know what you're talking about. Is there ANYONE who would, say, get gold medals in ping pong, swimming, and the 100 meter dash? Obviously not - nobody could ever manage separate training in their lifetime. Phelps won medals in several completely different swimming modes - spitz in only two. Using your argument, someone could say

"It's easy to win several medals in shooting"
"It's easy to win several medals in rowing"
"It's easy to win several medals in running"

etc etc etc

Sorry - you're "argument" about Phelps' swimming medals .....uh...doesn't hold water.

P.S.: Congrats on canada's 3 bronze medals.

What are you talking about? In swimming, outside of qualifying, every race is a medal race. There's much more of an opportunity to accumulate medals. That's why the guy he just passed, Spitz, was also a swimmer.

Of Phelp's 8 Gold medals only 4 are genuine. Three were in relay races and one is tarnished. That said, he's a great swimmer but hardly the greatest Olympian that ever lived. I would reserve that honor for someone like Jesse Owens who accomplished his achievements before a hostile crowd in Nazi Germany.

 

[BigRob]

What are you talking about? In swimming, outside of qualifying, every race is a medal race. There's much more of an opportunity to accumulate medals. That's why the guy he just passed, Spitz, was also a swimmer.

Of Phelp's 8 Gold medals only 4 are genuine. Three were in relay races and one is tarnished. That said, he's a great swimmer but hardly the greatest Olympian that ever lived. I would reserve that honor for someone like Jesse Owens who accomplished his achievements before a hostile crowd in Nazi Germany.

Didn't he set 7 World Records in 8 of his events?

 

[Popeye]

Didn't he set 7 World Records in 8 of his events?

Relevance? World records in sports like swimming are broken regularly. When another swimmer comes along in 4 or 8 or 12 years and breaks all of Phelps records does he suddenly become the greatest Olympian of all time?

What about Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin? An Olympics that Hitler was using in an attempt to demonstrate the superiority of the Aryan race. . The courage that Owens showed in the face of unrelenting racism was a feat all by itself. The gold medals that Owens won under those circumstances were felt way past just sports. His accomplishments still reverberate 70 years later. How many people will know the name of Michael Phelps 70 years from now?

The greatest Olympian? Michael Phelps isn't even in the same car as Jesse Owens.

 

[BigRob]

Relevance? World records in sports like swimming are broken regularly. When another swimmer comes along in 4 or 8 or 12 years and breaks all of Phelps records does he suddenly become the greatest Olympian of all time?

What about Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin? An Olympics that Hitler was using in an attempt to demonstrate the superiority of the Aryan race. . The courage that Owens showed in the face of unrelenting racism was a feat all by itself. The gold medals that Owens won under those circumstances were felt way past just sports. His accomplishments still reverberate 70 years later. How many people will know the name of Michael Phelps 70 years from now?

The greatest Olympian? Michael Phelps isn't even in the same car as Jesse Owens.

Look, I have a lot of respect for anyone who wins a gold medal, it is a pretty awesome accomplishment. I just think that he is certainly a quality athlete who deserves some recognition for his accomplishments.

 

[The Scotsman]

Look, I have a lot of respect for anyone who wins a gold medal, it is a pretty awesome accomplishment. I just think that he is certainly a quality athlete who deserves some recognition for his accomplishments.

....here here...well said.

Well I can tell you that he is certainly getting some attention this side of the pond and deservedly so too!

 

[Pandora]

....here here...well said.

Well I can tell you that he is certainly getting some attention this side of the pond and deservedly so too!

You are such a nice person I always enjoy to read your posts.

 

[Shadow]

CONGRATULATIONS to Michael. This is bloody fantastic. Good job. and other accolades. Ya did the US proud. and you did youself proud.

 

[BigRob]

CONGRATULATIONS to Mark. This is bloody fantastic. Good job. and other accolades. Ya did the US proud. and you did youself proud.

Mark?

 

[Shadow]

Mark?

OOOPS. my mistake. It has been corrected.

 

[Libsmasher]

What are you talking about? In swimming, outside of qualifying, every race is a medal race. There's much more of an opportunity to accumulate medals. That's why the guy he just passed, Spitz, was also a swimmer.

Of Phelp's 8 Gold medals only 4 are genuine. Three were in relay races and one is tarnished. That said, he's a great swimmer but hardly the greatest Olympian that ever lived. I would reserve that honor for someone like Jesse Owens who accomplished his achievements before a hostile crowd in Nazi Germany.

You're piling stupidity upon stupidity. First, the claim that "every race is a medal race" is idiotic - the preliminary heats, which determine if you even get to race in the medal race, aren't awarded medals. All other types of events work the same way - other than heats, every running race is a medal race, every rowing event is a medal event.

"hostile crowd"? As if the chinese weren't a hostile crowd.

"tarnished" medal? YOU are the only one who thinks so, and your opinion counts for squat.

As for Jessie Owens, he won four gold medals - but many olympians have done that. A big deal is made out of him only because being black, he is a liberal icon.

And discounting the relay medals is more stupidity - by that "reckoning", every person who won in a team sport, including sculling, water polo, volleyball, basketball, and track relays "didn't really" win a medal. In fact, you would even have to take away one of Jessie Owen's golds - the 4 x 100m relay!

Give it up.

 

[Libsmasher]

Relevance? World records in sports like swimming are broken regularly. When another swimmer comes along in 4 or 8 or 12 years and breaks all of Phelps records does he suddenly become the greatest Olympian of all time?

IF he wins nine gold medals. Lessee where we are with your rant: breaking world records doesn't make the greatest olympian, winning gold medals doesn't make you the greatest olympian.