Screw the Russian sweep, look at Phelps!

8 for 8 beats 1,2,3!
Gonna be a few decades before anyone even matches that one!

Originally posted by sonhouse
8 for 8 beats 1,2,3!
Gonna be a few decades before anyone even matches that one!

Good swimmer, but he has chance to compete in 8 events, most athletes don't.

Cyclists on the track can do plural events but not 8, athletes can do two or three and perhaps a relay, but not 8. And take something like judo, one event, that's all.

How many other sports offer so many categories to their participants? Seems like a farce to me, 100m this, 150m that, 200m this and 250m that, relays, different strokes (no Arnold in sight)...

If others did this, Phelps would not be alone, and I for one think we should undermine his total superiority by reminding each other that he has had this unique privilege, however talented he may be with it. Congratulations all the same!

I agree with asromacalcio. 8 in the pool is equivalent to about 3 on the track. Yep, Phelps is very good but he's not as good as the tally suggests.
I may be wrong but I think in swimming people have 6 or more golds 4 times, no other sport has ever come close. It's not coincidence.
Swimming is also one of those sports where it's simply not accessable to everyone. I live in the UK, a modern well developed rich western country yet there is a huge shortage of 50m pools. Think what it must be like in less well deveoped countries. Look at who wins all the medals in the pool, they are split between a few countries due to the sports inaccessability to the world as a whole.
As I said Phelps is very good but he is not the best ever Olympian as people tout him. I'm afraid his sport is to unrepresentative of the world for him to be that great. It's been said many times by people more in the know than me, 3 golds in the pool is worth one on the track. I agree.

I would however offer the caveat that any Olympic gold is a fantastic achievement and the winners deserve our respect.

Originally posted by sonhouse
8 for 8 beats 1,2,3!
Gonna be a few decades before anyone even matches that one!

He's great without a doubt, but any comparisons as to who's the greates are so subjective.

Originally posted by asromacalcio
Good swimmer, but he has chance to compete in 8 events, most athletes don't.

Cyclists on the track can do plural events but not 8, athletes can do two or three and perhaps a relay, but not 8. And take something like judo, one event, that's all.

How many other sports offer so many categories to their participants? Seems like a farce to me, 100m thi ...[text shortened]... s had this unique privilege, however talented he may be with it. Congratulations all the same!

Yes, but the fact he can be top in the world in each stroke when most specialize in one or another is amazing.

Originally posted by golfer1
Yes, but the fact he can be top in the world in each stroke when most specialize in one or another is amazing.

The main point is nobody came close to Mark Spitz since 1972, that is a long time, 8 oympiad's gone by without even Spitz's #. Even if you say 3 swimming gold's are worth 1 track and field, that gives Phelps nearly 5 gold medals, having won 14 now. Don't forget, he is only 23 so he will be 27 for the London meet and will still be around to collect more. I was wondering why there were no black folk in this competition though, the expense angle would explain that. I bet places like Jamaica could field world class swimmers if they could afford the 50 m pools like you said. That said, any place with a calm ocean or large lake could lay out 50 m strips, it's not impossible to train that way.

Originally posted by asromacalcio
Good swimmer, but he has chance to compete in 8 events, most athletes don't.

Cyclists on the track can do plural events but not 8, athletes can do two or three and perhaps a relay, but not 8. And take something like judo, one event, that's all.

How many other sports offer so many categories to their participants? Seems like a farce to me, 100m thi ...[text shortened]... s had this unique privilege, however talented he may be with it. Congratulations all the same!

You can compete for what you can qualify for. He was good enough in 8 different event to qualify and win them all. If anyone is going to doubt the achievment level of this, then they have mental issues and need help.

Originally posted by PocketKings
You can compete for what you can qualify for. He was good enough in 8 different event to qualify and win them all. If anyone is going to doubt the achievment level of this, then they have mental issues and need help.

i agree. hes doing different strokes, which is a disadvantage when other guys are specializing in event and hes varying his distance/stroke. 8 golds is amazing, how many other whole countries will get that many?

Originally posted by PocketKings
You can compete for what you can qualify for. He was good enough in 8 different event to qualify and win them all. If anyone is going to doubt the achievment level of this, then they have mental issues and need help.

Now now... it's not that he didn't achieve great things, but that other sportsmen didn't have such scope and will leave Beijing with a single gold, yet they're just as talented, train just as hard, and beat their opponents just as easily.

Originally posted by asromacalcio
Now now... it's not that he didn't achieve great things, but that other sportsmen didn't have such scope and will leave Beijing with a single gold, yet they're just as talented, train just as hard, and beat their opponents just as easily.

Don't forget Phelps qualified for breastroke, freestyle, backstroke and so forth, they were individual races and was competing fairly in those.

Originally posted by sonhouse
Don't forget Phelps qualified for breastroke, freestyle, backstroke and so forth, they were individual races and was competing fairly in those.

He did, he's great, the best, but if he only had one event to compete in yet the same talent he'd leave a virtual unknown.

I'm trying to redress the balance a bit, he does have the advantage of choice.

Phelps is ok but what is with the jab at Russia?

Originally posted by gambit3
Phelps is ok but what is with the jab at Russia?

they recently killed/terrorized a lot of people with a homeland invasion.... and only the United States can do that! 😠 😉

Originally posted by irontigran
i agree. hes doing different strokes, which is a disadvantage when other guys are specializing in event and hes varying his distance/stroke. 8 golds is amazing, how many other whole countries will get that many?

I agree, and not only did he win 8 golds, he set 7 new WR's and 1 new OR in these events as well. Track & field is the only other sport that someone could come close for the opportunity to win so many medals and that would be a rarity with athletes training towards specific disciplines. While I wouldn't classify him as the greatest athlete ever, he's definitely the best in his field.

Originally posted by irontigran
they recently killed/terrorized a lot of people with a homeland invasion.... and only the United States can do that! 😠 😉

Even NZ is beating USA in the birds nest.. lol (enjoying the moment while it lasts)

Hardly sport thread stuff taking a swipe at Russia.. Listening to Ms Rice barking orders to Russia over their intrusion into Georgia I wondered if her home address were Disneyland or a junkyard kennel? It must surely be time for the US to back off the world scene, let the French continue to broker peace in that region. Putin would only smile and ignore such an uncomprimising toothless diatribe the alternative would be to say come and stop me Ms Rice.. then what would she do? The US is deeply in debt, has no friends is spent on the world stage and you doesn't have the troops finish the middle eastern fiasco let alone start another one in Russia.

It wouldn't be unpatriotic for Americans to say "Heck we've gone astray in last decade but we'll stay home for a while, work hard and we'll be back soon all the better for it.

Back on the sporting athletics track.. USA isn't going well.. amazing sprint races last night the finals are going to be great. Our one gold for ladies shot put was our moment.. yippee for Val.

China in the ladies gym are sensational... These games are wonderful.