Given that we've had 2 consecutive ridiculous gold medal hauls by Mr. Phelps and 1 in the past by Mr. Spitz, when will we see a similar feat by a female swimmer? Why haven't we in the past? Is there somehow more parity in women's swimming?
I would submit that we might have seen 6 or more golds in one Olympics from Tracy Caulkins in 1980 if not for the boycott. And, we might have seen it from Shirley Babashoff in 1976 if not for the East German women.
The only current contender I could see is Libby Trickett. She won 5 golds at the 2007 Worlds. She had a great Olympics by most standards, but didn't approach her Worlds gold medal haul. There are other multi-talented women out there (Coughlin, Hoff, Coventry, Rice), but none have attacked that kind of schedule successfully so far.
Katie Hoff tried to have a Phelpsian performance but came up short. I think that she could do it at London.
Coughlin could have gotten 8 medals but it doesn't seem that she wants to put the effort into that type of schedule. It just seem that it was like pulling teeth to get her to do the 200 IM. She could have medaled in the 100 fly or maybe 200 fly.
Me personally...I think Hoff is one of the best all around female swimmers... just don't think she was quite ready for the type of schedule she swam
I don't think the schedule was the problem, she just didn't have a good meet. She was beaten convincingly by Rice and Coventry on the very first day of finals, after all.
Me personally...I think Hoff is one of the best all around female swimmers... just don't think she was quite ready for the type of schedule she swam..... 2012 should be interesting to watch
don't forget to give credit to the other swimmers that made phelps' gold rush possible. he owes those guys big time.
shane gould didn't have that kind of support, but did hold every freestyle record from the 100 to 1500 simultaneously......
from wiki:
She is the only person, male or female, to hold every world freestyle record from 100 m to 1500 m simultaneously, and the first female swimmer ever to win three Olympic gold medals in world record time.
pretty damn impressive as long as you're asking.
don't forget to give credit to the other swimmers that made phelps' gold rush possible. he owes those guys big time.
Do you mean his relay mates or Bernard and Cavic?
You're right about Shane Gould--3 individual gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze in 1972. No relay medals for Australia. Add some relay medals in there and it's quite a haul. She was only 16. How many medals might she have won if she had swum in 2 more Olympic Games?
don't forget to give credit to the other swimmers that made phelps' gold rush possible. he owes those guys big time.
shane gould didn't have that kind of support, but did hold every freestyle record from the 100 to 1500 simultaneously......
from wiki:
She is the only person, male or female, to hold every world freestyle record from 100 m to 1500 m simultaneously, and the first female swimmer ever to win three Olympic gold medals in world record time.
pretty damn impressive as long as you're asking.
This statement is not correct. Shane Gould is one of two swimmers to hold every world freestyle record from 100 meters to 1500 meters simultaneously. Helen Madison in 1931 accomplished this feat also. She also won every available freestyle event at the 1932 Olympics (100 Free, 400 Free, 400 Free Relay).
www.ishof.org/.../66hmadison.html
Me personally...I think Hoff is one of the best all around female swimmers... just don't think she was quite ready for the type of schedule she swam..... 2012 should be interesting to watch
Ditto. She will know what to work on for the next 4 years. Now that Bowman is back...
Helen Madison in 1931 accomplished this feat also. She also won every available freestyle event at the 1932 Olympics (100 Free, 400 Free, 400 Free Relay).
Helene Madison, actually. She was from Seattle and the closest pool to my house is named for her!
Katie Hoff is still maturing and should be even better in 2012. Coventry and Rice both looked great but I don't know much longer they can hold on to the form.
Rice is only 20. Almost exactly one year older than Hoff.
