Michael Phelps is the single most dominant athlete on the planet, bar none

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Carek1230 said:
Awesome, completely and undeniably awesome! I have never enjoyed watching any Olympic coverage more than I have watching Michael Phelps during these games in Beijing! And his mother and sisters in the crowd! They must be soooo proud! Phelps is not only an unbelievable athlete but a very nice, intelligent young man. I enjoy how humble he seems and he speaks so well. His interview with Mark Spitz via satellite was so enjoyable to watch. I can't wait for the post Olympics media blitz when Mr. Phelps will be such a hot commodity for quite some time. :up:
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:up: couldn't agree more - I cried like a baby when he won his 8th gold medal just a little while ago . . . and I'm a died in the wool aussie who hates seeing our swimmers beaten !!!! - just such an amazingly humble fellow who thoroughly deserves his successes :yes:
 
financeguy said:
I assume he's on something.
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Do you ever get tired of being such a sourpuss party pooper?

If he IS on something, it'll come out eventually, and then we'll all rant and rave about our disappointment (and I'm sure you'll come around all smug about it), but jeez.
 
anitram said:
Irvine, I have 2 swimming questions for you.

First, how do they decide what type of suit to wear? Is it just a personal preference or do different events require different suits?

Second, is there a true difference in body type between distance swimmers and sprinters? If you look at track events, there is a huuuuuuge difference in body type between a 10,000m runner and a 100m sprinter, but looking at the 1500m swimmers tonight, I didn't really think they looked different from the sprinters.
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1. i'm not entirely sure, since it was in 2000 that the new space-aged suits have begun to be available, and, ironically, that was the year i stopped competing. i've never worn any of these over-the-shoulder suits, so i can't speak from personal experience. but it seems as if different events require different suits, Phelps likes to have his upper body unencumbered in the butterfly, but not in the freestyle. that's personal choice.

2. yes, big difference. same with the strokes. distance swimmers tend to be smaller and leaner, sprinters tend to be long and strong, and the shorter you go, the stronger you are. breaststroke, however, tends to favor those who are smaller and flexible, and there's often little crossover with breaststroke -- you're either a breaststroker or you're not, if that makes sense.
 
Irvine511 said:
i'd put Phelps's 200 free up there as an individual accomplishment. his 400 IM was otherworldly, too.

but hard to make these comparisons. that 100 was amazing, i agree.
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Well, if we're talking about one race, I probably would lean towards Bolt....but if we're talking Olympics on the whole, please, it's Phelps and it's not even close.

But, yes, these comparisons are near impossible to make.....but these very comparisons/discussions/arguments are part of being a sports fan.
 
No spoken words said:
Well, if we're talking about one race, I probably would lean towards Bolt....but if we're talking Olympics on the whole, please, it's Phelps and it's not even close.
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Yeah, but it isn't as if Bolt could run a 50 m, 65m, 100m, 150m, etc. No runner and frankly no athlete in any sport aside from swimming will EVER be able to have the Olympics that Phelps had. And that's not because of a lack of talent on their behalf.

So I think even the comparisons of who had a better Olympics across sports makes absolutely no sense. Within swimming, clearly Phelps had the best Olympics of anyone, no question about it at all.
 
anitram said:
Yeah, but it isn't as if Bolt could run a 50 m, 65m, 100m, 150m, etc. No runner and frankly no athlete in any sport aside from swimming will EVER be able to have the Olympics that Phelps had. And that's not because of a lack of talent on their behalf.

So I think even the comparisons of who had a better Olympics across sports makes absolutely no sense. Within swimming, clearly Phelps had the best Olympics of anyone, no question about it at all.
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Eric Heiden did, minus the relays. 5 events, 5 distances, 5 golds, 5 OR's.

Also, what Phelps did is 100% unprecedented. What Bolt did was jaw-dropping, but, not at all unprecedented. Anyway, that's just my take on it.
 
What does that prove? That he won all 5 races? That's kind of my point, he COULDN'T win 8 even if he tried!
 
Look, there have been other great athletes (look at skiing for example) that won a lot of medals in the Olympics. What Phelps did was unprecedented but I just really hate these "greatest Olympian" pronouncements because I don't think they make one iota of sense. Ultimately it is the magical number 8 that makes him look the best, but did he have a better Olympics than Heiden had? I don't necessarily think so. It's totally apples and oranges.
 
I didn't call Phelps the greatest Olympian of all-time, that's the thing. I just think his performance in Beijing is the most impressive thus far. Far more impressive than Bolt's. That's all.

Nobody, ever, will convince me that there was a better Olympian than Heiden.
 
No spoken words said:
I didn't call Phelps the greatest Olympian of all-time, that's the thing. I just think his performance in Beijing is the most impressive thus far. Far more impressive than Bolt's. That's all.
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I would have to agree with you.

If Bolt wins 200m and the 4x100 relay in similar style, I think then both of them will have done everything they could possibly do and these comparisons may be more appropriate.
 
No spoken words said:
Nobody, ever, will convince me that there was a sexier Olympian than Heiden.
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EricHeiden.jpg
 
anitram said:
I would have to agree with you.

If Bolt wins 200m and the 4x100 relay in similar style, I think then both of them will have done everything they could possibly do and these comparisons may be more appropriate.
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What would you say if someone mentioned that Carl Lewis had won the 100m, the 200m, the 4x100m relay as well as the Long Jump? Bolt does not long jump. :)

Eh, these things can go round and round and round. I don't think Phelps wonders if he's "better" than Bolt, and I can guarantee that Bolt does not worry one iota about being compared to Phelps.
 
The problem with me is, well, one of the problems with me is, I have trouble shutting up about Heiden. What he did is truly mind boggling, and it'll never, ever be done again.
 
Speed skating is probably my second favorite winter event, other than figure skating.

Guess I like stuff on skates.
 
I'll be curious to see if the fervor and tourism spreads down to Seattle. I've never been this physically close to an Olympics before!
 
No spoken words said:
What would you say if someone mentioned that Carl Lewis had won the 100m, the 200m, the 4x100m relay as well as the Long Jump? Bolt does not long jump. :)
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I'd say it's irrelevant since Bolt doesn't long jump. Much like it's irrelevant that Phelps doesn't swim all the events (like some of the ones Thorpe did).

But now I am all nostalgic for speed skating. Canada has some incredible speed skaters right now, Vancouver will be so much fun!
 
I'll give you guys two guesses as to whether or not women's figure skating is my favorite Winter event...
 
I used to follow figure skating pretty closely, but am really out of the loop these days. I can't even name any of the "top" skaters in the world right now.

Ice dancing does nothing for me (although the inevitable drama with the Russian skaters and their swapping partners usually gets entertaining), and I'm fairly ambivalent about pairs skating.
 
anitram said:
I'd say it's irrelevant since Bolt doesn't long jump. Much like it's irrelevant that Phelps doesn't swim all the events (like some of the ones Thorpe did).

But now I am all nostalgic for speed skating. Canada has some incredible speed skaters right now, Vancouver will be so much fun!
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We'll agree to disagree on Bolt doing "all he can", then. Moving on...?

US Speedskating had a lot of drama with the men in 2004. NBC ate it up and exploited the shit out of it, turned the games into a fucking soap opera.
 
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