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
Ion,
I think your use of the phrase 'Flash in the Pan' is where the problem lies. This term is genrally used for someone that is here one day gone the next (the music industry would call it a one hit wonder). Had Biondi won just one gold medal in one Olympic never to be seen or heard of again, then I would agree about the flash in the pan. Since he swam in 3 Olympics, several medals covering different events, I think he is not a flash in the pan. Also the fact that you are using the criteria of world records set in the Olympics (just as many records are set in meets other than the Olympics). Also that Olympic performances can be misleading, most people would agree that Lance Armstrong could be considered one of the best cycliest ever, after winning his fifth consecutive Tour de France (only one other rider, Miguel Indurain has won 5 consecutive titles, and 3 others have won a total of 5 tours), yet he doesn't have a gold medal after going to the Olympics 3 times.
I can't do anything about how cheated you feel because you moved to the US to be closer to Biondi, only to have him retire rather than defend his title. The fact that he decided to move on with his life and pursue interests that are also noteworthy (teacher, swim coach and dolphin research & education) seems maybe a little more important than defending some title.
The fact that we will only agree to disagree is fine but why berate someone who has accomplished so much and continues to provide inspiration to others. Get over it all ready
Ion,
I think your use of the phrase 'Flash in the Pan' is where the problem lies. This term is genrally used for someone that is here one day gone the next (the music industry would call it a one hit wonder). Had Biondi won just one gold medal in one Olympic never to be seen or heard of again, then I would agree about the flash in the pan. Since he swam in 3 Olympics, several medals covering different events, I think he is not a flash in the pan. Also the fact that you are using the criteria of world records set in the Olympics (just as many records are set in meets other than the Olympics). Also that Olympic performances can be misleading, most people would agree that Lance Armstrong could be considered one of the best cycliest ever, after winning his fifth consecutive Tour de France (only one other rider, Miguel Indurain has won 5 consecutive titles, and 3 others have won a total of 5 tours), yet he doesn't have a gold medal after going to the Olympics 3 times.
I can't do anything about how cheated you feel because you moved to the US to be closer to Biondi, only to have him retire rather than defend his title. The fact that he decided to move on with his life and pursue interests that are also noteworthy (teacher, swim coach and dolphin research & education) seems maybe a little more important than defending some title.
The fact that we will only agree to disagree is fine but why berate someone who has accomplished so much and continues to provide inspiration to others. Get over it all ready
