Consider the talk of Phelps winning 8 gold, I wonder who everyone thinks will win the 400 Free Relay.
There are several countries that have the potiential to win this race.
If 2 people swim considerably faster than his time, then they should be on the relay...it's about putting the 4 fastest swimmers on the team at the meet.
And I think most swimmers would understand that, but it would still be a major story.
Remember the situation with Carl Lewis at the 1996 Olympics? Here's a summary lifted from Wikipedia:
Lewis qualified for American Olympic team for the fifth time in the long jump, the only time an American man has done so. And though he finished eighth in the 100 m final at the Olympic Trials, because he was on the Olympic team he could be considered for the relay team. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, injuries to world-record holder Powell and the leading long-jumper in the world, Iván Pedroso, affected their performances. Lewis, on the other hand, was in good form. Though he did not match past performances, his third-round leap of 8.50 m won gold by 21 cm over second-place James Beckford of Jamaica. He thus became one of only three Olympians to win the same individual event four times, joining Danish sailor Paul Bert Elvstrøm, who won the Finn class from London 1948 (then Firefly class, which was transformed into Finn class as of Helsinki 1952) to Rome 1960, and discus thrower Al Oerter of the United States, who won the discus throw from Melbourne 1956 to Mexico City 1968. Additionally, Lewis’ ninth gold medal tied him with Paavo Nurmi, Larissa Latynina and Mark Spitz who have had more gold medals than any other athlete except Ray Ewry who had 10 (if the 1906 Intercalated Games are included).
Controversy struck when as Track and Field News put it, “Lewis’ pissy attitude in the whole relay hoo-hah a few days later served only to take the luster off his final gold.”
After Lewis’ unexpected long jump gold, it was noted by observers that he could surpass Nurmi as the track and field athlete with most Olympic gold medals if he entered the 4 x 100 m relay team. Any member of the American Olympic men’s track team could be used, even if he never ran the event. Lewis said, “If they asked me, I’d run it in a second. But they haven’t asked me to run it.” He further suggested on Larry King Live that viewers phone the United States Olympic Committee to weigh in on the situation. Lewis had skipped the mandatory relay training camp and demanded to run the anchor leg, which added to the debate. The final decision was to not add Lewis to the team. Olympic team coach Erv Hunt said, “The basis of their opinion was ‘We want to run, we worked our butts off and we deserve to be here.’” The American relay team finished second to Canada, the first time an American 4 x 100 m men’s relay team was defeated in an Olympic final, if the 1960 Rome Olympics disqualification is not counted. Since the Canadian team was anchored by Donovan Bailey, who days earlier set a world record in the 100 m, and the Canadians ran the fastest time ever recorded in America, Lewis' addition to the team may not have changed the result. “Amid the American hype, Canada was indeed being overlooked, despite having Worlds silver medalist Bruny Surin to back up the new WR holder Bailey,” said Track and Field News. But the controversy was a distraction to the team, and whether Lewis’ presence would have made a difference is irresolvable.
(en.wikipedia.org/.../Carl_Lewis
I remember at the time thinking this was ridiculous. Why should Carl Lewis get a shot at his tenth gold medal when there were other guys who actually earned a spot on the relay and were probably looking for their very first gold?
If 2 people swim considerably faster than his time, then they should be on the relay...it's about putting the 4 fastest swimmers on the team at the meet.
And I think most swimmers would understand that, but it would still be a major story.
Remember the situation with Carl Lewis at the 1996 Olympics? Here's a summary lifted from Wikipedia:
Lewis qualified for American Olympic team for the fifth time in the long jump, the only time an American man has done so. And though he finished eighth in the 100 m final at the Olympic Trials, because he was on the Olympic team he could be considered for the relay team. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, injuries to world-record holder Powell and the leading long-jumper in the world, Iván Pedroso, affected their performances. Lewis, on the other hand, was in good form. Though he did not match past performances, his third-round leap of 8.50 m won gold by 21 cm over second-place James Beckford of Jamaica. He thus became one of only three Olympians to win the same individual event four times, joining Danish sailor Paul Bert Elvstrøm, who won the Finn class from London 1948 (then Firefly class, which was transformed into Finn class as of Helsinki 1952) to Rome 1960, and discus thrower Al Oerter of the United States, who won the discus throw from Melbourne 1956 to Mexico City 1968. Additionally, Lewis’ ninth gold medal tied him with Paavo Nurmi, Larissa Latynina and Mark Spitz who have had more gold medals than any other athlete except Ray Ewry who had 10 (if the 1906 Intercalated Games are included).
Controversy struck when as Track and Field News put it, “Lewis’ pissy attitude in the whole relay hoo-hah a few days later served only to take the luster off his final gold.”
After Lewis’ unexpected long jump gold, it was noted by observers that he could surpass Nurmi as the track and field athlete with most Olympic gold medals if he entered the 4 x 100 m relay team. Any member of the American Olympic men’s track team could be used, even if he never ran the event. Lewis said, “If they asked me, I’d run it in a second. But they haven’t asked me to run it.” He further suggested on Larry King Live that viewers phone the United States Olympic Committee to weigh in on the situation. Lewis had skipped the mandatory relay training camp and demanded to run the anchor leg, which added to the debate. The final decision was to not add Lewis to the team. Olympic team coach Erv Hunt said, “The basis of their opinion was ‘We want to run, we worked our butts off and we deserve to be here.’” The American relay team finished second to Canada, the first time an American 4 x 100 m men’s relay team was defeated in an Olympic final, if the 1960 Rome Olympics disqualification is not counted. Since the Canadian team was anchored by Donovan Bailey, who days earlier set a world record in the 100 m, and the Canadians ran the fastest time ever recorded in America, Lewis' addition to the team may not have changed the result. “Amid the American hype, Canada was indeed being overlooked, despite having Worlds silver medalist Bruny Surin to back up the new WR holder Bailey,” said Track and Field News. But the controversy was a distraction to the team, and whether Lewis’ presence would have made a difference is irresolvable.
(en.wikipedia.org/.../Carl_Lewis
I remember at the time thinking this was ridiculous. Why should Carl Lewis get a shot at his tenth gold medal when there were other guys who actually earned a spot on the relay and were probably looking for their very first gold?
