Swimming Finals at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain

Originally posted by Bert Bergen Guinness IS wrong as Matthew BIONDI graduated from... ... You really ARE wrong this time. ... I follow the information in the Guinness book. Originally posted by Bert Bergen ... 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: ... ... These outside factors are difficult to evaluate. The rough criteria I am using, is who repeats as a winner in the Olympics -the biggest test in swimming on earth-, and after that who goes for a third win in a third Olympics. All these wins are against competition and against aging. Originally posted by Frank Thompson Using Ion's logic wouldn't Tom Dolan be a "flash in the pan". Afterall didn't he splash around last year and swim the 200 Back and watch from the deck of the pool at Ft. Lauderdale as Michael Phelps and Eric Vendt broke his 400 IM World Record. So what did my hero do when challenged at the age of 26? He QUIT instead of RAISING TO THE CHALLENGE brought on by higher competition. He never went head to head against Michael Phelps, Eric Vendt, or Tom Wilkens after the 2000 Olympics. He just QUIT like Matt Biondi did at 26. Oh what a shame because I recall that he wanted to become the first person to win 3 Olympic 400 IM titles and be considered the best in the IM. Unfortunately he will always be in the shadow of Tamas Darnyi because Tamas was a better IM swimmer. You say why? Prove it. Tamas won 2 World Championships in both the 200 IM and 400 IM. Tamas won 2 Olympic Gold Medals in both the 200 IM and 400 IM. Tom Dolan never won at the World Championships or Olympics in the 200 IM and never held the World Record in that event. So he will never be the best and he QUIT at 26 and was just a "flash in the pan" like Matt Biondi. I consistently endorse this logic when comparing Tamas Darnyi (Hun., the competitor who is blind in one eye) with Tom Dolan (U.S.). I put Dolan on my list because he repeated winning the 400 I.M. in 2000, after he won the 400 I.M. in 1996. But last year, Dolan retired when seeing Phelps and Vendt breaking his world record in 400 I.M., and then ducking their challenge. So the fact that Dolan wanted in 2000 to win a third Olympics in 2004 in 400 I.M., was denied by Dolan himself when retiring. The reason I didn't put Darnyi on the list, is because I forgot. Darnyi won the 200 and the 400 I.M. in the 1988 Olympics, and repeated winning the 200 and the 400 I.M. in the 1992 Olympics. That's more than Dolan, by my Olympic criterion. As for nyswim's fact that Biondi is versatile and Popov is one-dimensional, that's true. As a flash in the pan, Biondi and Spitz are versatile. As a Michael Jordan or Pete Sampras of sprint swimming only, Popov is a one-dimensional specialized sprinter, faster than Biondi and Spitz, and with a more winning longevity than Biondi and Spitz against all kinds of competitors Popov is facing over the years in Olympics and against Popov's own aging.

Originally posted by Bert Bergen Guinness IS wrong as Matthew BIONDI graduated from... ... You really ARE wrong this time. ... I follow the information in the Guinness book. Originally posted by Bert Bergen ... 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: ... ... These outside factors are difficult to evaluate. The rough criteria I am using, is who repeats as a winner in the Olympics -the biggest test in swimming on earth-, and after that who goes for a third win in a third Olympics. All these wins are against competition and against aging. Originally posted by Frank Thompson Using Ion's logic wouldn't Tom Dolan be a "flash in the pan". Afterall didn't he splash around last year and swim the 200 Back and watch from the deck of the pool at Ft. Lauderdale as Michael Phelps and Eric Vendt broke his 400 IM World Record. So what did my hero do when challenged at the age of 26? He QUIT instead of RAISING TO THE CHALLENGE brought on by higher competition. He never went head to head against Michael Phelps, Eric Vendt, or Tom Wilkens after the 2000 Olympics. He just QUIT like Matt Biondi did at 26. Oh what a shame because I recall that he wanted to become the first person to win 3 Olympic 400 IM titles and be considered the best in the IM. Unfortunately he will always be in the shadow of Tamas Darnyi because Tamas was a better IM swimmer. You say why? Prove it. Tamas won 2 World Championships in both the 200 IM and 400 IM. Tamas won 2 Olympic Gold Medals in both the 200 IM and 400 IM. Tom Dolan never won at the World Championships or Olympics in the 200 IM and never held the World Record in that event. So he will never be the best and he QUIT at 26 and was just a "flash in the pan" like Matt Biondi. I consistently endorse this logic when comparing Tamas Darnyi (Hun., the competitor who is blind in one eye) with Tom Dolan (U.S.). I put Dolan on my list because he repeated winning the 400 I.M. in 2000, after he won the 400 I.M. in 1996. But last year, Dolan retired when seeing Phelps and Vendt breaking his world record in 400 I.M., and then ducking their challenge. So the fact that Dolan wanted in 2000 to win a third Olympics in 2004 in 400 I.M., was denied by Dolan himself when retiring. The reason I didn't put Darnyi on the list, is because I forgot. Darnyi won the 200 and the 400 I.M. in the 1988 Olympics, and repeated winning the 200 and the 400 I.M. in the 1992 Olympics. That's more than Dolan, by my Olympic criterion. As for nyswim's fact that Biondi is versatile and Popov is one-dimensional, that's true. As a flash in the pan, Biondi and Spitz are versatile. As a Michael Jordan or Pete Sampras of sprint swimming only, Popov is a one-dimensional specialized sprinter, faster than Biondi and Spitz, and with a more winning longevity than Biondi and Spitz against all kinds of competitors Popov is facing over the years in Olympics and against Popov's own aging.