Michael Phelps - Eight Gold Medals

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

Phelps is just unreal. No doubt about it. And so is Bolt.
+1

 

[Hard2Fit]

+2.

 

[A Canuker]

He's just good. That said it takes something like that to make everyone else believe they can do it aswell.

 

[Artisan Fan]

My thinking is that Phelps is a bit like Tiger, part natural ability combined with a tremendous work ethic.

 

[remn]

Originally Posted by Eason

HGH is really something, isn't it.

obviously anyone who is good is cheating. those gymnasts were too small....phelps' face is too chiseled....give me a break.

 

[zjpj83]

Impressive, but the "best athlete ever" stuff is ridiculous IMO. He is lucky enough to do a sport in which he has the opportunity to get 8 medals. How about an amazing tennis player, who absolutely dominates but only gets 1 gold medal? Or any sport that doesn't have a million different sub-events, for that matter?

My hat is off to anyone who dominates their chosen field or sport. But getting 8 medals is not inherently more impressive than someone who dominates the field but only has the opportunity to win one medal.

Maybe I'm just a killjoy, but I'm not sure I see what the big deal is.

 

[Brad]

To my mind, the "big deal" is his mastery of all the disciplines that comprise "swimming."

 

[Dragon]

I`m just glad he isn`t Chinese.

 

[remn]

Originally Posted by zjpj83

Impressive, but the "best athlete ever" stuff is ridiculous IMO. He is lucky enough to do a sport in which he has the opportunity to get 8 medals. How about an amazing tennis player, who absolutely dominates but only gets 1 gold medal? Or any sport that doesn't have a million different sub-events, for that matter?

My hat is off to anyone who dominates their chosen field or sport. But getting 8 medals is not inherently more impressive than someone who dominates the field but only has the opportunity to win one medal.

Maybe I'm just a killjoy, but I'm not sure I see what the big deal is.

Well, I mean if you really want to break it down into what makes a great athlete, what would be the criterion? Highest average performance in the largest variety of sports? Most muscular? Fastest? Most agile?

Hopefully you see what I'm getting at. You cant really quantify, short of creating some complicated formula, athleticism or the distinction of "Best athlete." So we use Olympic medals as a gauge. Maybe it's not completely fair to athletes who don't have as many subevents, but someone's gotta be the best and 8 Gold certainly sounds like a good indicator to me.

 

[remn]

Originally Posted by Dragon

I`m just glad he isn`t Chinese.

yeah because then it would definitely be a combination of doping and state-run pool-rigging. If there was a chinese swimmer at phelps' level (which btw doesn't exist) who beat cavic by such a redic margin, I get the feeling a lot more people would be up in arms.

 

[redgrail]

Originally Posted by zjpj83

getting 8 medals is not inherently more impressive than someone who dominates the field but only has the opportunity to win one medal.

+1
Also, Phelps is a freak of nature.
As is Usain Bolt.
They should have a separate category for people that aren't born with superpowers.

 

[benecios]

Originally Posted by zjpj83

Impressive, but the "best athlete ever" stuff is ridiculous IMO. He is lucky enough to do a sport in which he has the opportunity to get 8 medals. How about an amazing tennis player, who absolutely dominates but only gets 1 gold medal? Or any sport that doesn't have a million different sub-events, for that matter?

My hat is off to anyone who dominates their chosen field or sport. But getting 8 medals is not inherently more impressive than someone who dominates the field but only has the opportunity to win one medal.

Maybe I'm just a killjoy, but I'm not sure I see what the big deal is.

Finally a bit of perspective.

 

[zjpj83]

Originally Posted by remn

Well, I mean if you really want to break it down into what makes a great athlete, what would be the criterion? Highest average performance in the largest variety of sports? Most muscular? Fastest? Most agile?

Hopefully you see what I'm getting at. You cant really quantify, short of creating some complicated formula, athleticism or the distinction of "Best athlete." So we use Olympic medals as a gauge. Maybe it's not completely fair to athletes who don't have as many subevents, but someone's gotta be the best and 8 Gold certainly sounds like a good indicator to me.

I guess that's my point. You can't quantify. Frankly, I think Phelps is a bit a douchebag, so that colors my reaction to all this.

Swimming is swimming - having a million different variations on the same thing doesn't change that. Being able to to do the backstroke and freestyle is no different than being able to shoot a 3 pointer and dunk - they are just variations on the same skill. You could do the same thing in every sport. You could have one basketball tournament in which you can only score three-pointers. Then one where you can only score from layups. Etc. And then you could have a million different basketball "events," each of which had a different medal. **** just think about gymnastics - they could have a medal for floor exercise, a medal for uneven bars, a medal for pummel horse - a medal for each different event. They don't. Why does swimming need to? Why not just have every athlete do every event, and the one whose combined times were the fastest wins one medal?

If he won a gold in swimming, a gold in high jump, a god in tennis - we'd be having a different conversation. I just don't think it's fair for him to get such a spotlight when there are other dominant athletes out there. He is lucky to be in a sport set up the way that it is - period.

At the end of the day, I'm no more impressed by him than any other athlete who dominates the field to win a gold medel.

 

[redgrail]

Originally Posted by zjpj83

**** just think about gymnastics - they could have a medal for floor exercise, a medal for uneven bars, a medal for pummel horse - a medal for each different event. They don't.

They do.

 

[zjpj83]

Originally Posted by redgrail

They do.

ha - you are right. Doesn't change my general message or my thoughts about Phelps in particular.