Copying this from another forum I frequent. I've wondered this myself, maybe someone here has the answer.
Original thread:
www.flyertalk.com/.../showthread.php
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Why isn't "swimming" a single event like "gymnastics" is?
I mean, you can get medals for the 100m butterfly, 400m relay, 200m backstroke (I don't know, I'm making those particular examples up); but the gymnasts don't get separate medals for hoops, uneven bars, floor exercise, etc.
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Former Member
It seems to me that the basic question is could you find eight track and field events that you could imagine one person doing them all let alone dominating them all? Even four? And Phelps could have been in the mix for more events if the schedule allowed.
But how many swimmers can dominate eight events? So far. only one. For that matter how many swimmers can dominate even two or three at the Olympics? Some, but not many.
All this argument shows is that it's difficult to compare two different sports, because the criteria are different. Tiger Woods or Rafael Nadal can't win eight medals (Woods can't even win one), but Phelps can't win four Grand Slams in one year. The Grand Slams are for golf and tennis what the Olympics are for swimming (except that they're annual events).
So, yes, it's true that a tennis player, a gymnast or a track athlete can't win eight medals, because there aren't that many to win. But that only proves that criteria to be considered "the greatest" is different for every sport.
As Amy said, Phelps has acheieved something that no one else in his sport has ever done, which certainly makes him the greatest swimmer ever. It took 36 years to break the previous record. How long would it take to duplicate the equivalent (whatever it is) in another sport?
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Former Member
It seems to me that the basic question is could you find eight track and field events that you could imagine one person doing them all let alone dominating them all? Even four? And Phelps could have been in the mix for more events if the schedule allowed.
But how many swimmers can dominate eight events? So far. only one. For that matter how many swimmers can dominate even two or three at the Olympics? Some, but not many.
All this argument shows is that it's difficult to compare two different sports, because the criteria are different. Tiger Woods or Rafael Nadal can't win eight medals (Woods can't even win one), but Phelps can't win four Grand Slams in one year. The Grand Slams are for golf and tennis what the Olympics are for swimming (except that they're annual events).
So, yes, it's true that a tennis player, a gymnast or a track athlete can't win eight medals, because there aren't that many to win. But that only proves that criteria to be considered "the greatest" is different for every sport.
As Amy said, Phelps has acheieved something that no one else in his sport has ever done, which certainly makes him the greatest swimmer ever. It took 36 years to break the previous record. How long would it take to duplicate the equivalent (whatever it is) in another sport?
