Swimming Finals at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain

Edited.

John Naber-swimmer Jim Nabors-actor aka Gomer Pyle USMC

Originally posted by nyswim John Naber-swimmer ... Right on.

"As a flash in the pan, Biondi and Spitz are versatile" Why then when a swimmer goes after a large number of wins in a single meet is he compared to Spitz and not Popov. Because Spitz set the standard for all others to attempt. "Michael Jordan or Pete Sampras of sprint swimming" Sampras maybe, Jordon never. Jordon transcended the sport to become a cultural icon. Spitz did that, Popov never has. Spitz has name recognition outside swimming, Popov does not. "faster than Biondi and Spitz" I would hope so. The progression of human performance is to be faster, otherwise we would still trying to break records from the 1950's. While some records in swimming are Ruthian in nature, most are not. Spitz's performance in 1972 is probably unbeatable. I don't think Popov or Biondi have done anything that approaches that. Best times, Olympic finals: Biondi 50 :22.14 100 :48.63 200 1:47.99 100 Fly :53.01 Popov 50 :21.91 100 :48.69

Amazing Pieter van den Hoogenband (Ned.): in the 4x100 medley relay, on the freestyle leg, he split the fastest time in history, a 46.70. I think he has the most talent in the world in the 100 free. In the 100 free final, maybe he mishandled the pressure or maybe he didn't eat well, because he finished second.

I read Gold in the Water. Yeah, I compare 4:09.09 by Phelps and 4:10.79 by Laszlo Cseh (Hun.), and they are comparable. Also in the 100 fly, Crocker's 50.98 and Phelps' 51.10 are comparable. Today, Crocker swam in the 4x100 medley relay, the butterfly leg in 50.39. (Man, 4:09 in 400 I.M. and 50 in 100 fly, before today I thought they must be inhuman...) I think that these youngsters are almost different species than the hard working swimmers who are just a little bit older than them -like Wilkens and Dolan-, and these older hard working swimmers themselves are different than most people. One of the older hard working swimmers, Popov, takes everyone in sprints to the task, though.

Ion,Shirley Bashashoff was a better female freestyle than Matt Blondi was a man. For one thing in 1976, she swam all freestyles from 100 meter to 800 meter and she did the 400 Im and won that at olympic trials. Two reasons why he gets more credit than she does-he won a little more medels went she did. He went to three olympics and swam 3 relays versus 2 for her. Number two,he won more gold medals but he didn't have to compete against steriod swimmers. Bashashoff was the most dominated female swimmer of the 1970s. Matt Blondi only dominated sprint freestyle events and sometimes the 100 meter fly.

How about more reaction to Ian Crocker's sub 51 100 fly? As someone from NE who saw Crocker swim as a kid it's great to seem him suceed at this level. Especially when you consider he grew up in Maine and never trained in a 50 meter pool as a kid--because Maine does not have one.

This moronic Biondi vs. Popov vs. everyone else “debate” has gone far enough! In an earlier discussion thread, I warned everyone about the impossibility of “proving” who is the “best” swimmer. I predicted that when you go there, you will inevitably run out of superlatives about your favorite swimmer, and start talking down everyone else’s. The end result will be a lot of people who don’t know jack, or a best very little more than jack, making a lot of spurious and asinine criticisms of almost incomprehensibly accomplished athletes. As if on cue, here we are in the midst of what has to be one of, if not the, fastest swim meet in history, and are we talking about it? No, or maybe just a little. What we actually are talking about is a Mighty Mouse vs. Batman debate. Let me just cut to the bottom line for everyone: Biondi is a multiple event/multiple Olympian, former world record holding swimmer of historical importance. Popov is a multiple event/multiple Olympian, current world record holding swimmer of historical importance. Let that sink in for a minute…could any conceivable difference in their abilities (if such could be measured, given they did not swim exactly the same events, and one had greater opportunities than the other on relays) matter one iota given all that they both have accomplished?!!! So what do people think about Grant Hackett’s 1500? Will he make a run at the world record? Will he be tired enough for the rest of the field to make things interesting? And about Michael Phelps, other than being in the pool at the same time Ian Crocker was having his “Misty Hyman moment,” Phelps has done everything, and more, to earn the title of Superman or Spitz this meet. He has broken the old world record in every one of his events (twice in some). Think he has a sub-4:10 in him for tonight’s final in the 400 IM? And what about the U.S. Medley Relays. Was Natalie Coughlin at less than her best a good move? And hey, we have a men’s relay that Michael is fast enough only for the prelim team (Yoy!), which is itself only 1.5 seconds off of the world record! (And double Yoy!! Jim, you should relate to that one.) By how much do you think the A team is going to beat the record? Matt

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.