Swimming Finals at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain
Former Member
The finals of the first day, show:
.) in the men 400 meter free final, Thorpe (Aus.) went 3:42.58 for #1, Hackett (Aus.) went 3:45.17 for #2, and Coman (Rom.) went 3:46.8x for #3;
Coman -who is my fellow countryman, and I was telling you about him for years-, defeated Rossolini (Ita.) of the 2000 Olympics fame, Keller (U.S.) and Carvin (U.S.);
.) in the women 400 meter free final, Simona Paduraru (Rom.) finished #7, with a fast time;
.) in the 4x100 men free relay, Russia won;
the fastest split was by Frenchman Frederic Bousquet at 47.03 -which is the second fastest split in history-, and fast splits (in the 47s) were recorded by Alex. Popov (Rus.) and Jason Lezak (U.S.);
.) in the 4x100 women free relay, U.S. won, anchored by an ace 53.xx from Jenny Thompson (U.S.).
He! he! he! :D ho! ho! ho!
I post this, ahead of www.swiminfo.com and www.swimnews.com who are sandbagging...
Parents
Former Member
Guinness IS wrong as Matthew BIONDI graduated from Campolindo High School in Northern California in 1984, qualified for the 400M free relay team and was third on the relay (that is him in Swimming World, Sept., '84, touching head up as Rowdy dusts Mark Stockwell on the anchor) that won the gold. We were in high school and college at the same time and competed against eachother. You really ARE wrong this time.
On focus (as you asked), he swam in three Olympics, won multiple gold medals individually and on relays and the gold that Popov earned this week on the relay was his FIRST ever at a Worlds or Olympic meet. Does that mean Biondi was able to elevate a foursome better than Popov? Of course not.
This is apples to oranges; you cannot compare and elevate one over another (throwing in Spitz, Salnikov, Perkins, Thorpe, etc) in comparison as a result of outside factors previously cited: prelim/finals vs. prelim/semi/final; elevation; steriods (!?!), technology (taper, suits, pools), competition, financial support, and increased understanding of methods allowing for longevity. Just enjoy what you are seeing and have fun with said comparisons. We are seeing history, just like they did in 1972 and every other year.
Guinness IS wrong as Matthew BIONDI graduated from Campolindo High School in Northern California in 1984, qualified for the 400M free relay team and was third on the relay (that is him in Swimming World, Sept., '84, touching head up as Rowdy dusts Mark Stockwell on the anchor) that won the gold. We were in high school and college at the same time and competed against eachother. You really ARE wrong this time.
On focus (as you asked), he swam in three Olympics, won multiple gold medals individually and on relays and the gold that Popov earned this week on the relay was his FIRST ever at a Worlds or Olympic meet. Does that mean Biondi was able to elevate a foursome better than Popov? Of course not.
This is apples to oranges; you cannot compare and elevate one over another (throwing in Spitz, Salnikov, Perkins, Thorpe, etc) in comparison as a result of outside factors previously cited: prelim/finals vs. prelim/semi/final; elevation; steriods (!?!), technology (taper, suits, pools), competition, financial support, and increased understanding of methods allowing for longevity. Just enjoy what you are seeing and have fun with said comparisons. We are seeing history, just like they did in 1972 and every other year.
