Michael Phelps. Greatest Olympian??

[loganmbyers]

Michael Phelps is said to be the worlds Greatest Olympian ever because he got the most Gold medals. But does that make him the best athlete ever. Who do you think the greatest olympian, athlete is ever in history. Sure he has broken records but so has everyone else. And i guarantee that there is someone else in the world that hasn't gone to the olympics that can beat him.

[stiizy]

Don't really think this deserved a Thread but whateva...

I'm sure there might be someone out there but they have'nt done it so let Phelps live..

[Phlip]

Ric Flair used to say "To be the man, you gotta beat the man, WHOOOOOO!!!!"

Until someone outdoes him, he is the best.

[jrbump]

10 Gold medals and he has three more events? Has broken records with almopst every medal? Just like Spitz did btw.

So he might end up with 13 gold total?

He also plans to compete in 2002?

I'll go ahead and call him the best ever.


It's just like all the people who used to say Steve Young was a better Qb than Montana. Sure Steve beat him in almost every measurement, except one. The one that really matters.

[AutoRnD]

For reals, Phelps doing all those events back to back and still breaking records. MAD MAD PROPS.. Talk about stamina and focus.

Definitely can't undermine his accomplishments. That dude just floats over water in the breaststroke. amazing shit man....

[mRclARK1]

Originally Posted by loganmbyers

Michael Phelps is said to be the worlds Greatest Olympian ever because he got the most Gold medals. But does that make him the best athlete ever. Who do you think the greatest olympian, athlete is ever in history. Sure he has broken records but so has everyone else. And i guarantee that there is someone else in the world that hasn't gone to the olympics that can beat him.

Can't really say who was the best athlete ever. There's so many different sports. Sure maybe he's one of the greatest swimmers ever, but that doesn't mean he could do fuck all in any other sport at the olympic level.

So the dude can swim like a fish. Good for him. Really, congrats it's a great accomplishment and all, but who really gives a shit in the real world? It's just a sport. It's entertainment. I personally think professional sports has become FAR to important to society. It's like an obsession that's not healthy.

FWIW your last statement is, maybe, true. I personally know of one person capable of performing olympic level in high jump, including jumping higher than the olympic bronze medal height in 2000. She just has no interest in competing at that level. So yes, he's the "best" swimmer in the world since it's generally considered the pinnacle for performance in an athletes career. But remember... the olympians are always the best athletes...

...Of those who had the time, money, ambition and opportunity to make it. Not to mention I don't believe for half a second that most of them aren't doping up. It's not are they doping, it's just who gets caught for the most part. In any case, they're loading up on drugs, both legal and illegal that weren't available to athletes of the past. I think a lot of athetes in the past are far more than their counterparts today. Also calling the olympics "amateur" sports is a joke. Fully probably half the athletes there put their job on hold to train, or compete professionally (IE: Basketball players) outside the olympics. Fifty years ago, a lot of olympians still worked a 9-5 till the days before the olympics and trained in on their own time. Some on their own dime even.

[enkei2k]

i give him props for a job well done definitely hands down. but this year they have those new technology suits supposedly and that helps with the drag, whatever, and that leads to faster times so he's getting help there. and for some reason he breaks record after record not just barely, but significantly in some events but how come no talk about steroids, or performance enhancing whatever the hells? like in baseball with bonds...

[Pank]

Originally Posted by jrbump

He also plans to compete in 2002?

if he can pull that off, that is really impressive.

[rainier]

seriously, you think hes even with everyone in the first run in the water, then the last stretch he kills the competition. props to him.

cant call him the greatest olympian ever lived, but as for the olympics of 2008, he sure deserves the name.

[DUFFM4N]

michael phelps...amazing

[axiomatik]

Michael Phelps:

Great Olympian, or Greatest Olympian??

[LongGrain]

Originally Posted by enkei2k

i give him props for a job well done definitely hands down. but this year they have those new technology suits supposedly and that helps with the drag, whatever, and that leads to faster times so he's getting help there. and for some reason he breaks record after record not just barely, but significantly in some events but how come no talk about steroids, or performance enhancing whatever the hells? like in baseball with bonds...

the LZR is basically an automatic 4% speed increase just from reduced drag. its the first race suit to incorporate neoprene, which was almost not allowed by FINA. i cant WAIT to wear one at conference this year, gonna be sweet.

Phelps is pretty good though.

and no, there arent just other people in the world who can swim faster than he can... swimming isnt the same as running. it takes a lot more practice...

[mRclARK1]

^^^ Part of the reason he is a good swimmer is he is very built for it. Till now I didn't even know what the dude looked like, but he's pretty tall (6'3 - 6'4) and has a really really long upper body, and shorter legs. A great build for a swimmer.

Running doesn't take as much practice, but it takes a lot of training... a lot, to be very competitive. Plus you need to be naturally very able to have high endurance. Also, a good runner will have a build the opposite of Phelps. Long legs and shorter torso. That's how I'm built... so I'd be a shitty swimmer. haha

[LongGrain]

Originally Posted by mRclARK1

Part of the reason he is a good swimmer is he is very built for it. Till now I didn't even know what the dude looked like, but he's pretty tall (6'3 - 6'4) and has a really really long upper body, and shorter legs. A great build for a swimmer.

short legs are terrible for swimming...

[mRclARK1]

Originally Posted by LongGrain

short legs are terrible for swimming...

Ideally you'd have both. Long legs and a long torso... Taller the better for swimming. But proportionally, you're going to have one or the other, or a fairly evenly proportioned build. You can't have long legs for your height, and a long torso for the same height at the same time, and for a swimmer, a long torso is the more beneficial of the two.

Also I said "shorter legs"

I never said his legs are short. Only shorter than someone's who would be perfectly proportioned at his height.

[jackjack]

Originally Posted by PHLIP

Ric Flair used to say "To be the man, you gotta beat the man, WHOOOOOO!!!!"

Until someone outdoes him, he is the best.

YES..................

[LongGrain]

Originally Posted by kyoru

reminds me I saw some guy playing with his flabby tits before the race, he kept up too. weird.

fat or not, we all do it

Originally Posted by mRclARK1

Ideally you'd have both. Long legs and a long torso... Taller the better for swimming. But proportionally, you're going to have one or the other, or a fairly evenly proportioned build. You can't have long legs for your height, and a long torso for the same height at the same time, and for a swimmer, a long torso is the more beneficial of the two.

Also I said "shorter legs"

I never said his legs are short. Only shorter than someone's who would be perfectly proportioned at his height.

you'd be surprised at the different builds that are good for swimming.

some of the fastest swimmers in the world have guts that hang out over their suits.

other are skin and bones.

some are short, others look like they should be playing basketball.

ive been swimming competitively for over 10 years now, i'm just saying that its really hard to say that he has an "ideal" build for swimming. the guy is just all around built, he's pretty fucking jacked.

what i can say though, is that his wingspan definitely isnt hurting his cause.

[kyoru]

Originally Posted by LongGrain

you'd be surprised at the different builds that are good for swimming.

some of the fastest swimmers in the world have guts that hang out over their suits.

other are skin and bones.

some are short, others look like they should be playing basketball.

ive been swimming competitively for over 10 years now, i'm just saying that its really hard to say that he has an "ideal" build for swimming. the guy is just all around built, he's pretty fucking jacked.

what i can say though, is that his wingspan definitely isnt hurting his cause.

reminds me I saw some guy playing with his flabby tits before the race, he kept up too. weird.

[mRclARK1]

Originally Posted by LongGrain

you'd be surprised at the different builds that are good for swimming.

some of the fastest swimmers in the world have guts that hang out over their suits.

other are skin and bones.

some are short, others look like they should be playing basketball.

ive been swimming competitively for over 10 years now, i'm just saying that its really hard to say that he has an "ideal" build for swimming. the guy is just all around built, he's pretty fucking jacked.

what i can say though, is that his wingspan definitely isnt hurting his cause.

I just know that ideally a long torso is beneficial for swimming, that's what I was always told (I swam in middle school). But you're right, build can be overcome by a lot of other factors. It's just never gonna hurt is all I'm saying. Plus, yeah... the guy has very long arms. Most peoples wingspan is within an inch of their height in either direction IIRC, and I bet he's over that by a good bit.

I'd trade a couple inches off my legs for some more upper body. haha

I got called "daddy long legs" again yesterday. ... My legs measured top of hip to bottom of ankle joint is alone over half my height. I DO wear clothes to hide it a bit.

[UfoZ8myCow]

All I know is that in the history of any other sport, there has never been an athlete who so thoroughly dominates every aspect of competition.

Sure, Tiger Woods is amazing. But he's been beaten plenty of times and its not always a given that he will win.

Sure, Wayne Gretzky was an amazing hockey player but even his marks will be surpassed by the new generation of players and he wasnt the perfect all around player.

Sure, Michael Jordan was incredible but now there are other athletes that are competing and dominating just as much as he did (arguably Kobe Bryant).

But Michael Phelps... As long as he is in the pool, it's not even a question of who will win. He races alone against his own world records that he has set over and over and over again. Not to mention the gold medal thing. I think that's what separates him from any other athlete is just the sheer domination over his sport and the fact that there really isnt anyone out there who can challenge him at this point, and probably wont even in 2012 in London. Somebody will eventually beat him, but not any time soon. Just like Spitz.



And to those who say there are athletes out there who may be able to perform at Olympic levels or professional levels but dont for whatever reason (lack of desire/opportunity/etc)... They might as well not exist. Those are the people who are like the sad drunk old guy in the back of a bar ranting and raving about how they could have beaten so and so in the Olympics but didnt because of XYZ. Nobody fucking cares. You didnt do it, so you dont count for shit. STFU and keep drinking old man.

[LB.Motoring]

Jacked? is that a east/midwest saying?

I've heard it a couple times out like in NJ the other week,

anyways, whats your build?

Im pretty quick in the water, but Its cheating when Im against average height individuals,

I have a pretty stupid wingspan, my knuckles drag on the floor hahah jk, 6'5 ftw.

[ESmorz]

So what you are saying is with my Lamar Odom arms I should start swimming again?

Swim coaches used to want me to swim more competitively they said I had a great "swimmers build". However, I never had the want or drive that would be necessary to ever be really good at swimming. I would just swim as hard as I could with my natural ability and would still do pretty good in the 100m freestyle. But, there would be short stocky kids who would be just as fast as me because they trained like it was nobodies business.

The dude really is amazing to watch. The first leg of that relay last night was ridiculous. He absolutely decimated the competition.

[LongGrain]

Originally Posted by LB.Motoring

Jacked? is that a east/midwest saying?

I've heard it a couple times out like in NJ the other week,

anyways, whats your build?

Im pretty quick in the water, but Its cheating when Im against average height individuals,

I have a pretty stupid wingspan, my knuckles drag on the floor hahah jk, 6'5 ftw.

umm, 6'0", 155lbs on average (depending on how hard i'm training). as far as build goes, i look like a swimmer lol.

we have a guy on our team who's 7'0 230lbs though, he's really fast also.

[SexPanda]

the greatest athlete ever is Lance Armstrong.

/thread.

[S13SilviaGirl]

Lance is pretty damn good. But Phelps is a major component to the swimming competition. He is just that damn good.

[loganmbyers]

I heard something rediculous that Armstrong has a heart built for a 9 foot man. That is insane. So much training.

[mRclARK1]

Originally Posted by loganmbyers

I heard something rediculous that Armstrong has a heart built for a 9 foot man. That is insane. So much training.

Athletic heart syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

9 foot man is a bit of an exaggeration I'd say...

[KwKouki]

I dont think he deserves greatest........however "winningest" might be a better word

[ALTRNTV]

Too bad "winningest" is actually already a word.

win·ning·est
–adjective Informal.
1. winning most often: the winningest coach in college basketball.

[Andrew Bohan]

Originally Posted by loganmbyers

i guarantee that there is someone else in the world that hasn't gone to the olympics that can beat him.

just because you can do something doesn't mean you did it.