godtomsatan Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Gets my vote for historical significance. Owens was simply awesome under tremendous pressure. Sticking it to old Adolph was pretty damn cool. I don't get this Owens worship. Yeah, stuck it to Adolph, then went back to a country that didn't bother to adopt a civil rights act for 28 more years. It obviously didn't register in significance with the American public at the time the way we've conveniently allowed it to in the revisionist version of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratesownninjas Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Jesse Owens -- He won 4 gold medals in Berlin, in 1936, in Aryan Nation, in front of HITLER, as a black man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowboutthemCowboys Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Bonnie Blair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Bonnie Blair I loved her in The Exorcist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Fact of the matter is that many swimmers are competent in different lenghts and swimming styles, which to me means that if you are a superlative swimmer you have a chance at multiple medals. Not so with many other sports, so really the comparison is unfair. Runners for example can at MOST be competitive in 2 distances. Seeing Phelps dominate by THAT much is really pretty incredible, but remember Spitz did it as well, it's not like this is unchartered territory. Thorpe definitely has my vote, despite his cheating Kind of how I look at this myself. Look at USA's basketball team. Total domination and if they win gold, one medal. Carl Lewis also made the American Olympic team in the long jump and 4X100m relay, but obviously we boycotted those Olympics. I was also wondering about Darin's point about the swimmers wearing those ultra tight swimming trunks...does that give you less resistance in the water? Spitz didn't have that. And, Spitz set 7 world records in 7 events, so what Phelps is doing, like someone mentioned, isn't exactly uncharted territory. Also, how does pressure make Owens run slower? Dudes, the gun goes off, and you blow away the field with your unmatched speed at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSUChiefsTarheelFan Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I kind of like these guys... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wirehairman Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 (edited) And while Phelps' achievements are worthy of a ton of praise, all these "Olympic" and "World" records being beat like nobody's business is probably partially largely due to the technological advancements in swimwear. I jest not. Fixed. I wonder what the world records would be if Spitz or Ian Thorpe had those shark-skin Speedo suits. *Edited to clarify which Thorpe. Edited August 14, 2008 by wirehairman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Fixed. I wonder what the world records would be if Spitz or Ian Thorpe had those shark-skin Speedo suits. *Edited to clarify which Thorpe. Spitz's times are being beaten by some 10 seconds. Can't just be the suits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundaynfl Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Fixed. I wonder what the world records would be if Spitz or Ian Thorpe had those shark-skin Speedo suits. *Edited to clarify which Thorpe. Those suits reduce drag in the water but the difference between Spitz's 200 freestyle and Phelps is 10 seconds!! Do the suits have littel motors that I don't know about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Maybe: Al Oerter, Discus -- four consecutive gold medals 1956 - 1968; nearly made the Olympic team in 1980 when he was 43 and tossed an unofficial throw when filming a TV segment in 1980 that would have been a still-standing world record Steve Redgrave won gold medals at 5 consecutive Olympics, a feat matched by only four others - and he did it in the incredibly hard sport of rowing.. This guy won gold medals at fencing in 6 consecutive Olympics despite missing two Olympics that weren't held because of WW2 thus he spans from 1932 to 1960. Birgit Fischer won six golds at kayaking at six separate Olympics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 how about that russian chick gymnast that won 18 medals over 3 olympics, 9 of them gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 how about that russian chick gymnast that won 18 medals over 3 olympics, 9 of them gold. Larisa Latynina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSUChiefsTarheelFan Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Dan and Dave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I can't believe these two haven't been mentioned. Well, aside from the fact that they didn't even make the finals. But still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSUChiefsTarheelFan Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 (edited) He'd still lose... Phelps is Mr. Universe in comparison due to the training. and not to mention his diet...I'm sure that would help in his beat down on Spitz Breakfast: 3 fried egg sandwiches, 2 cups coffee, 5-egg omlette, bowl of grits, 3 pieces of french toast, 3 chocolate chip pancakes Lunch: 1 pound pasta, 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, energy drink (1,000 calorie) Dinner: 1 pound pasta, 1 large pizza, energy drink (1,000 calorie) Edited August 14, 2008 by KSUChiefsTarheelFan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Perhaps they were simply trying to generate hype but I've seen more than one expert explain that the field is way more competitive now than it was in 72 so even if he just matched Spitz's 7 golds, it would be a more impressive accomplishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSUChiefsTarheelFan Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I can't believe these two haven't been mentioned. Well, aside from the fact that they didn't even make the finals. But still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 You can thank Eric and Keith for turning me on to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Agent Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 He'd still lose. Now, give him the suit and the same training regime and then see what would happen. Today's athletes have far better training programs then ever before. Just look at phelps and spitz side-by-side... phelps is Mr. Universe in comparison due to the training. The biggest difference is Mark Spitz and Phelps swallows. I'll be here all week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 tribune article http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olymp...0,1139778.story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Scorp Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Very good article to explain why Phelps should not be considerd the best ...YET. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Herschel F'n Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 The biggest difference is Mark Spitz and Phelps swallows. I'll be here all week. :rimshot: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 (edited) sorry...did I get some of that "rimshot" in your eye? or is that a wink? Edited August 15, 2008 by millerx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefjay Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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